It was always going to come down to this. The New York Rangers (64-28-3-5) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (61-32-3-5) have taken a wild ride in the Eastern Conference Finals, and it is only fitting that the two will play in Game 7 with Friday night's winner going on to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The road team has now won three consecutive games in this series, but the oddsmakers really can't do what they probably would love to do by making the game a dead pick 'em. There still has to be a value to home ice advantage, especially in a Game 7, and New York should have that edge by around a -130 margin.
GOALIE REPORT
Your turn to step up again, Ben Bishop. In a series which has gone back and forth with both teams landing huge haymakers at the other throughout, Bishop is the latest one to suffer a knockdown. He was yanked out of Game 6 on Tuesday night, but he'll be back out there with his season on the line after allowing five goals on 26 shots, the third time he’s conceded at least five goals in this series.
Henrik Lundqvist wasn't perfect on Tuesday, but he did the job, allowing three goals on 39 shots. He withstood a ton of Tampa Bay pressure early on in the first period and a half, and it was his strong play which really kept the Rangers in it.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It felt like we had a really tough time in the second to get pucks deep, and they are a really good team when you don't get pucks in the right place. But for us to come through like this in such a big game is a good feeling." – Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist following a Game 6 win in Tampa
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The power play was again really crucial in Game 4. Tampa Bay did score once on the power play in the first period on two chances, but it couldn't get the job done late in the third when it had a chance to eke closer in a 6-3 game.
The Rangers do have to be careful from one standpoint: They have taken a third period delay of game penalty now in consecutive games, of which there is just no excuse for.
PROP TALK
We said after Game 5 that we wanted Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis on our side in Game 6, and we were rewarded by Nash with a goal and three assists. St. Louis didn't get his name on the stat sheet, but he had some great shifts on the ice and will be crucial again in Game 7. Don't bet against either of these men in this one.
ANALYSIS & PREDICTION
The Lightning are going to have to figure out how to slow down the Nash/St. Louis line in this one, and we don't think they are going to be able to do it. That said, we still suspect that Bishop is in for a much better Game 7 than he had in Game 6 (he almost has to be).
If that's the case, an early New York goal could be erased by a Tampa Bay strike, and in the end, Steven Stamkos and the crew might just be good enough to get that one last goal to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. This game deserves to be a classic, and we think overtime will settle it once and for all.
Tampa Bay 2, New York 1
BookMaker will open the odds for this Thursday game 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 7 of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers will start at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 29, 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. The contest will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network.
