Lightning vs Bruins Game 4 Odds & Picks – Aug. 28
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are -105 favorites to defeat the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semi-final on Friday
- The Lightning won Game 3 by a 7-1 score and lead the best-of-seven series 2-1
- Tampa Bay beat Boston in five games in the second round of the 2018 NHL playoffs
When the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning clashed in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Boston opened the series with a win. Then the Lightning rattled off four straight victories to take the series.
Is history about to repeat itself? If so, the oddsmakers aren’t sold on the idea.
Tampa Bay is favored to win Game 4 of the series on Friday (7:30 pm ET) but ever so slightly.
You’ll get odds of -105 should you wager on Tampa Bay in the Lightning vs Bruins odds. Boston is opening with a betting line of -110.
Bruins vs Lightning Game 4 Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total at DraftKings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | -105 | -1 (-165) | O 5.5 (-103) |
| Boston Bruins | -110 | +1 (+200) | U 5.5 (-120) |
Odds as of Aug. 27th.
In the opening line for Game 2, both teams were offered at -108 odds. Tampa Bay won the game 7-1.
Lightning Strike Quickly
The 7-1 scoreline was symbolic in that’s also the record between the two teams over their past eight postseason meetings. The Lightning have won seven of the eight games.
Three games into the series, the Bolts have goals from eight different players. Five of them – Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Ondrej Palat, Blake Coleman and Alex Killorn – have two goals apiece.
Multi-point nights for the #Bolts:
Gourde: 1G-1A
Killorn: 2G-1A
Kucherov: 1G-3A
Palat: 1G-1A
Point: 1G-2A
Sergachev: 1G-2ABogosian, Cernak, and Coleman all also with an assist each on the night. #TBLvsBOS
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 27, 2020
A team that frequently struggles to locate secondary scoring, Boston has goals from just four players. Five of the Bruins’ seven goals have come from their Perfection Line. Brad Marchand has scored four times and David Pastrnak once.
Tampa Bay’s defense has outscored Boston’s defense 3-0.
Tampa Bay Powering Up
The Lightning came into Game 3 ranked 21st in the NHL postseason on the power play. Tampa Bay was 2-for-20 (10%).
Wednesday, the Bolts went 3-for-6 with the man advantage. Kucherov, last year’s NHL scoring leader, looks to be getting his mojo back.
For anybody wondering, Lightning franchise record for power-play goals in a playoff game is 4, set twice previously, last time coming in Game 2 of 2015 ECSF at Montreal in a 6-2 win. #TBLvsBOS #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) August 27, 2020
He dished out three assists with the man advantage during a four-point night. Only Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (75) has more points in the NHL playoffs since 2015 than Kucherov (74).
Tampa Bay was the NHL’s #5 power play during the regular season, clicking at 23.1%. The Bruins are in deep trouble if the Lightning special teams are heating up.
Halak Under Attack
Prior to Game 3, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy mused about giving Dan Vladar his NHL debut in goal since it was the second game of back to backs. Instead, he stayed with veteran Jaroslav Halak.
Halak was chased after allowing four goals in 16 shots and rookie Vladar got to play after all.
Prior to this juncture, the Bruins were able to slough off concern about #1 goalie Tuukka Rask’s departure from the bubble to attend to a family illness.
Cassidy shuffled his lineup significantly for Game 3. Forwards Sean Kuraly and Andres Bjork came out, as did Connor Clifton, the only Boston defenseman with a postseason goal. Insterted were defensemen John Moore and Jeremy Lauzon and forward Par Lindholm.
History Favors Tampa
In Stanley Cup history, teams that win Game 3 after a playoff series is tied go on to win 67% (218-107) of best-of-7 series. That’s including a 3-1 slate this postseason.
Bruce Cassidy: "The disappointing part about that is that we weren’t able to get ourselves back in the game by killing any further penalties or creating offense, or having a push back. That’s what we lacked tonight for whatever reason. But it’s over. We’re gonna focus on game 4"
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) August 27, 2020
Wednesday marked the first time that the Lightning really flexed their muscles in the playoffs. Their previous victories were all one-goal verdicts.
Since the 2016 playoffs, Tampa Bay has won the last five series in which it went ahead 2-1. Interestingly, all of the series ended in five games.
Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-105)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
