The Chicago Blackhawks (61-32-4-3) are officially three wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.
For our money though, they will need to play better to ensure that they take Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (62-33-3-5).
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE
Of course, in this instance, we're talking about the theoretical lightning, not the team, the Lightning.
The Blackhawks scored twice within two minutes of each other in the third period on Wednesday night. They leveled the game on a Teuvo Teravainen goal from the slot, and they scored shortly thereafter thanks to Antoine Vermette and his slapper from just outside of the circle which clanged off of the bar and into the net behind Ben Bishop.
This quick strike scoring isn't out of the ordinary for the Blackhawks. In Game 6 against Anaheim in the Western Conference Finals, they scored three times in less than four minutes in the second period, and they followed that up with two goals in less than three minutes late in the third.
In Game 5, Chicago scored twice in 1:12 to take what probably should have been a 4-2 loss to force the game into overtime. The Blackhawks might have lost that game, but live bettors who hedged their bets between periods were thrilled with the outcome.
In Game 4, we saw the same sort of thing. The Blackhawks scored five minutes apart as a part of a three-goal third period against the Ducks.
Live betting is a little odd in hockey, as you really want to time your bet just before that team you wager on scores a goal. In this case though, betting just after a goal is scored might be just as valuable when it comes to the Blackhawks.
TRIPLETS CAUSING MATCHUP PROBLEMS AGAINST STAMKOS LINE
The biggest takeaway that we had from Game 1 is just how badly the Blackhawks were defensively outside of their top pairing. Duncan Keith was phenomenal as he always is, but the conscious effort was made by Joel Quenneville to make sure that the Triplets didn't beat him.
Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov looked frustrated all night long by Keith and Brent Seabrook, as the three combined for just a total of two shots on goal and were a -2 combined in Game 1.
However, with so much attention being paid to the Triplets, what very well could be the best line for Tampa Bay was ignored.
Steven Stamkos played a tremendous game in spite of the fact that he didn't get his name on the stat sheet, though he will be ruing the day that he missed a point blank range shot in the slot against Corey Crawford.
Stamkos' line with Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan produced the only Tampa Bay goal of the game, and it also produced 13 of the 21 shots which the Lightning took for the entire game.
It's always tough to time live betting, and it might be just as difficult to follow the players on the ice at any given time, but if you see a lot of Keith and Seabrook against the Triplets line and Tampa Bay has some momentum on its side, the second that Stamkos and his mates step onto the ice probably isn't a bad time to give it a go in live betting, especially knowing that the Lightning really have to go for broke in this game or risk falling behind 2-0.
BookMaker will open the odds for Game 2 before anyone else on the internet. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly interface on your smartphone or tablet provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Game 2 of this series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning will commence on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. The contest will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
