Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Monday 5/21/18
Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals (-125, 6)
Lightning lead series 3-2
The Washington Capitals looked unstoppable after posting two straight road victories to open the Eastern Conference finals, but one week later they are fighting for survival as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 6 on Monday night. The Capitals have dropped three straight, including Saturday’s 3-2 setback in Tampa Bay, as the Lightning moved within a victory of their third trip to the Stanley Cup finals and second in four years.
“A lot of people counted us out when we were down 0-2 (to Columbus) in the first round. Things got hard in the last series (against Pittsburgh) and we could have melted, and we just kept playing,” Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen told reporters. “So that’s what we’ve got to do again. Bring our best effort for Game 6 at home, win a game, and then we’ll go from there.” The Capitals battled back after falling behind 3-0 in Game 5, outshooting Tampa Bay 26-9 in the final 40 minutes, and hope to carry that momentum over on home ice where they are 3-5 in the postseason. The Lightning have won five of six on the road in the playoffs and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been outstanding in three straight wins while turning aside 100 of the 106 shots he has faced to improve to 11-4 in the postseason, but they know there is plenty of work to do. “We have a lot of unfinished business. This isn’t even close to being over,” Tampa Bay right wing Ryan Callahan told reporters. “This last game is definitely the hardest. … To go in their building and try to close them out, it’s going to be tough.”
TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet One, TVA
Note: Not every online sportsbook is the same. Thinking of placing a bet? Check which top rated sports betting sites have been reviewed first.
LINE HISTORY: The Capitals opened as -130 moneyline favorites for Game 6 but money coming in on the visiting Lightning has brought that number down to -125 on game day. The total hit betting boards at 6 and has yet to move off the opening number. Check out the complete line history here.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: Callahan, along with "fourth line" mates Cedric Paquette and Chris Kunitz, have played a big part defensively against the Alex Ovechkin unit the last three games and contributed two goals and two assists in Game 5. “They played a winning role for our team and they inspire everyone,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “They pull our team into the fight, that’s what they do.” Right wing Nikita Kucherov notched an assist in Game 5 to take over the team lead with 17 points, one better than captain Steven Stamkos and fellow center Brayden Point, while left wing Ondrej Palat has at least a point in three straight contests and 12 overall.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Washington gave up a goal in the first minute in each of the first two periods Saturday after trailing through the opening 20 minutes in both Game 3 and 4 at home, forcing it to chase the Lightning most of all three contests. “We know we’ve got to come out with a better start at home, give our fans something to cheer about, and play the brand of hockey at home that we’ve had so much success (at) over the past years to this point,” defenseman John Carlson told reporters. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov has scored in four consecutive games and owns at least a point in eight straight to break the franchise record for points in a single postseason (22).
INJURY REPORT:
Lightning - LW Adam Erne (Questionable, Lower Body).
Capitals - No injuries to report.
TRENDS:
* Lightning are 5-1 in their last 6 games following a win.
* Under is 2-0-2 in Lightning last 4 games following a win.
* Under is 2-0-3 in the last 5 meetings in Washington.
* Road team is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals Preview and Predictions 05-21-2018
20th May 2018 by Gracenote
the washington capitals looked unstoppable after posting two straight road victories to open the eastern conference finals, but one week later they are fighting for survival as they host the tampa bay lightning for game 6 on monday night. the capitals have dropped three straight, including saturday's 3-2 setback in tampa bay, as the lightning moved within a victory of their third trip to the stanley cup finals and second in four years.
"a lot of people counted us out when we were down 0-2 (to columbus) in the first round. things got hard in the last series (against pittsburgh) and we could have melted, and we just kept playing," washington defenseman matt niskanen told reporters. "so that's what we've got to do again. bring our best effort for game 6 at home, win a game, and then we'll go from there." the capitals battled back after falling behind 3-0 in game 5, outshooting tampa bay 26-9 in the final 40 minutes, and hope to carry that momentum over on home ice where they are 3-5 in the postseason. the lightning have won five of six on the road in the playoffs and goalie andrei vasilevskiy has been outstanding in three straight wins while turning aside 100 of the 106 shots he has faced to improve to 11-4 in the postseason, but they know there is plenty of work to do. "we have a lot of unfinished business. this isn't even close to being over," tampa bay right wing ryan callahan told reporters. "this last game is definitely the hardest. ... to go in their building and try to close them out, it's going to be tough."
tv: nbc sports network, cbc, sportsnet one, tva
about the lightning: callahan, along with "fourth line" mates cedric paquette and chris kunitz, have played a big part defensively against the alex ovechkin unit the last three games and contributed two goals and two assists in game 5. "they played a winning role for our team and they inspire everyone," tampa bay coach jon cooper told reporters. "they pull our team into the fight, that's what they do." right wing nikita kucherov notched an assist in game 5 to take over the team lead with 17 points, one better than captain steven stamkos and fellow center brayden point, while left wing ondrej palat has at least a point in three straight contests and 12 overall.
about the capitals: washington gave up a goal in the first minute in each of the first two periods saturday after trailing through the opening 20 minutes in both game 3 and 4 at home, forcing it to chase the lightning most of all three contests. "we know we've got to come out with a better start at home, give our fans something to cheer about, and play the brand of hockey at home that we've had so much success (at) over the past years to this point," defenseman john carlson told reporters. center evgeny kuznetsov has scored in four consecutive games and owns at least a point in eight straight to break the franchise record for points in a single postseason (22).
overtime
1. paquette's goal saturday was his first in the playoffs since the winning tally in game 3 of the 2014-15 stanley cup finals against chicago.
2. washington c nicklas backstrom is a minus-2 with six shots on net in two games since returning from a hand injury that forced him to sit out four.
3. the lightning failed on the only power play chance in game 5, but are 6-for-15 in the series while the capitals are 3-for-14 and haven't converted since game 2.
prediction: lightning 4, capitals 3
NHL
Long Sheet
Monday, May 21
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY (65-27-0-5, 135 pts.) at WASHINGTON (59-31-0-9, 127 pts.) - 5/21/2018, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 60-40 ATS (+0.2 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 36-24 ATS (+0.1 Units) second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 27-13 ATS (+9.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 36-22 ATS (+7.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 21-14 ATS (+6.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 66-32 ATS (+12.2 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 35-18 ATS (+8.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TAMPA BAY is 235-236 ATS (+499.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 8-6 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 8-6-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.2 Units)
NHL
Monday, May 21
Trend Report
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games
Tampa Bay is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
Tampa Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games when playing Washington
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Tampa Bay is 8-15 SU in its last 23 games when playing Washington
Tampa Bay is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington Capitals
Washington is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Washington is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games
Washington is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Washington is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games when playing Tampa Bay
Washington is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games when playing Tampa Bay
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Washington is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay