Those in the know in the NHL suggested that without the injured Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning weren't going to do much scoring in the postseason. The only way they would've been able to win this series with the Detroit Red Wings would be to get a yeoman's effort out of Ben Bishop.
Instead, the Bolts have shown no offensive problems after scoring eight combined goals in two games to get out to the 2-0 series lead over the Red Wings. Tampa Bay can put a hammerlock on this series on Sunday if it can win Game 3 at the Joe.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
We'll first have to see if Gary Bettman's office has anything to say about the skirmish from the end of the game on Friday night. The refs handed out 93 minutes in penalties at 19:06 of the third after the game became 5-2, and if there are suspensions, particularly to Justin Abdelkader, who picked up a game misconduct, there could be slight alterations to this spread.
As it is, we expect to see the Red Wings favored by a slight margin in a game they absolutely have to win in order to keep their season alive.
GOALIE REPORT
Jeff Blashill has a big decision he has to make in this game. Jimmy Howard hasn't been good in the first two games of this series, allowing seven goals on 71 shots. It might be time to turn back to Petr Mrazek, who won 27 games this year and posted four shutouts.
Last year in this series though, Mrazek struggled at times in this series and was only replaced by Howard for one period of play. It's a tough call to make for sure, and we don't envy the position Blashill is in as he tries to save his team's season.
The Lightning have no such problems. John Cooper will send Bishop into the pipes one again after he allowed just four goals on 72 shots in the first two games of this series.
LIVE BETTING
You'd think that this series would feature some great special teams play, but we haven't seen a lot of great action on the power play yet. Both teams have scored once with the man advantage, but especially with Nikita Kucherov manning the Tampa Bay power play, you'd think we'd see more than that.
It should be noted though, that Tyler Johnson, Kucherov and Alex Killon are each +6 in this series. The three men have combined for 15 points, and each has at least two goals and two assists through the first two games of this series.
QUICK PICK
Even though this series has the feel of one which is over, we're not all that convinced that's the case. The Lightning have been quite good, but we're still not convinced they're going to be able to finish this series off quite yet.
Detroit wasn't the most dominant team in the world at home, going 22-13-3-3, but we think that big brawl at the end of Game 2 could prove to be a bit of a spark. Look for the Red Wings to get back in this series by shutting down Tampa's top line no matter who's in net.
NHL Odds: Detroit 3, Tampa Bay 1
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! Game 3 of this series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings will commence on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Joe Louis Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on CNBC.
