How to make the most out of a TB threepeat
After sweeping the Panthers, the Lightning are now just four wins away from their third trip to the Stanley Cup finals in as many seasons. It’s a stunning achievement considering the parity of the salary cap era in the NHL.
Tampa Bay currently sits at -135 at Bet MGM to win the Eastern Conference and +260 to three-peat as Cup champion. And while those odds are too short to play right now, there are a few ways to get exposure on the Lightning so you don’t miss out on all the fun when Tampa Bay inevitably wins the Stanley Cup in a month’s time. Wait until after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals: By sweeping the Panthers, the Lightning earned themselves at least a week’s worth of rest between Game 4 and the series opener for the Eastern Conference Final. While the time off should pay dividends as the playoffs wear on and it allows Brayden Point to perhaps get back into the lineup, it could lead to some rhythm issues in the series opener for Round 3.
The Lightning have shown in the past they have no real concerns about using Game 1 of a best-of-seven to feel their way into a matchup, so there’s a chance that the Hurricanes or Rangers catch them a little sleepy to kick things off next round. It’s also worth remembering that, although Tampa Bay will be the favorite to win the round, whichever team wins between the Hurricanes and Rangers will have home-ice advantage against the Lightning.
Should Tampa Bay stumble out of the gate, bettors will have the opportunity to buy in on the Lightning at a better price across all markets. Andrei Vasilevskiy to win the Conn Smythe (+650 at Bet MGM):
After a slow-by-his-standards start to the postseason, Vasilevskiy found his allworld form at the end of Round 1 and has not looked back. Entering play on Thursday, the Big Cat has skated to a .932 save percentage and leads the postseason with a +11 Goals Saved Above Expected.
It seems pretty likely at this point that if the Lightning win the Stanley Cup, Vasilevskiy would take home the Conn Smythe. So rather than grabbing Tampa Bay to go back-to-back-to-back at +260, take Vasilevskiy to win backto-back playoff MVP awards at more than double the odds. Corey Perry to win the Conn
Smythe (66/1 at Bet365): While it will be hard for Perry to beat out Vasilevskiy, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman for the Conn Smythe, there is some hope for the former NHL MVP.
Not only is he tied with Ross Colton for the team lead with five goals, but also Perry plays plenty of power-play minutes and has proven to be a playoff performer throughout his entire career. He’ll continue to have plenty of opportunities to add to his total as long as the Lightning are still playing games.
The other factor that makes this an intriguing wager is the storyline. At the end of the day, it’s human beings — and more specifically, sportswriters — who vote on the Conn Smythe. And Perry winning the award would be quite the story.