The Tampa Bay Lightning will be looking to take a 1-0 series lead at home on Wednesday night when they face off against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Lightning are slim -115 betting favorites on the NHL odds in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Stanley Cup Final betting: Blackhawks vs. Lightning Game 1 odds, stats
The Tampa Bay Lightning are set as the small home favorites for Wednesday night when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final.
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Chicago is a small -105 underdog for the game, but the oddsmakers also have it pegged as the -150 favorites on the overall series prices for the Stanley Cup final despite Tampa Bay's home-ice advantage. The Lightning head into the Stanley Cup final as the +130 underdog to win the best-of-seven set.
Tampa Bay has the head-to-head historical trends on its side for its series against Chicago according to the OddsShark NHL Database, with the Lightning having lost just once in their last seven games against the Blackhawks in the last five years. That lone defeat came on the road at the United Center in November, when they fell 3-2 in an UNDER result for totals bettors.
Tampa Bay got some revenge for that loss in February when it blanked Chicago, 4-0, at home at Amalie Arena. That win produced another UNDER result at the sportsbooks in a game in which they paid of as -157 favorites on the NHL betting lines.
The Blackhawks are coming off a seven-game victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference final, with captain Jonathan Toews scoring a pair of goals for Chicago in its 5-3 Game 7 win. Toews enters the Stanley Cup Final as the 57/20 favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
The Lightning needed the full seven games as well in the Eastern Conference final, blanking the New York Rangers, 2-0, at Madison Square Garden last Friday night to win the series. Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson leads the playoffs with 21 points, and he's at 9/2 on the Conn Smythe Trophy odds.
Puck drop for Game 1 of the Blackhawks vs. Lightning betting matchup is set for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. The teams will battle in Florida once again on Saturday night in Game 2, then fly up to Chicago for Games 3 and 4 of the series next Monday and Wednesday night.
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