Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals Predictions, Picks, Odds and Betting Preview – NHL East Conference Finals – May 17 2018

The Tampa Bay Lightning cut the Washington Capitals series lead down in half with a 4-2 win Tuesday in D.C. Will they win their second in a row to tie the series up? Or will the Caps move a win away from getting a seat in the Stanley Cup Finals? Going into this Thursday’s game, the home team is favored by 1.5-points at the sportsbook.

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Betting Preview for the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals NHL East Conference Finals Game 3 on May 15, 2018

When: Capital One Arena

When: Thursday, May 17,8:00pm EST

Line: Tampa Bay Lightning (point spread)  vs Washington Capitals(point spread) vs – view all NBA lines

TV Broadcast: NBCS, TVA

Betting on the Tampa Bay Lightning (+1.5)

At last, the Lightning got their win in the series – a morale-boosting one at that. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy bounced back from a pair of letdown performances in Games 1 and 2, as the 23-year-old netminder earned Game 3’s first star honors by turning away 36 of 38 shots he faced Tuesday night. So far in these playoffs, Vasilevskiy has a 9-4 record with a 2.68 GAA and a .915 SV%. Despite being still down in the series 2-1, the Lightning have done a spectacular job on the power play through the first three games. In Game 3, they went 2-for-5 on the man advantage giving the team five power play goals in the series. They have a 30 percent success rate on the man advantage in the postseason.

The Lighting are now 4-0 in their last four road games and 2-0 in their last two in Washington.

Betting on the Washington Capitals (-1.5)

Since Capitals fans have endured so many playoffs heartbreaks over the years, losing Game 3 of this series must have caused them great anxiety even though their team is still up in the series. Having said that, the Caps are still looking fine. They may have lost Tuesday, but they continue to dominate the possession battle. They outshot the Bolts 38-23 in Game 3. The Caps have not been held to fewer than 32 in any game in this series so far, meaning the Lightning are having a hard time containing them. That will have to continue this Wednesday, as the Caps look to take a 3-1 series lead. If anything, Washington’s special teams need to fortify their defense against the Lighting’s power play attacks or just play a more disciplined hockey to avoid unnecessary penalties.

The Caps are 3-2 in their last five at home.

Writer’s Prediction

Washington wins, 3-2.

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