Tonight we have Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. In the first two games of this series, which the teams split 1-1, we saw a shocking amount of goals scored, especially for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay has scored five goals in each of the first two games while the Bruins put up a 6-spot in Game 2. To be honest, I think a lot of the experts and NHL fans alike didn't expect there to be this much scoring in these games. I'm not sure Vegas was ready for it either. Tonight the total is still sitting at 5.5 but oh my is it publicly getting hammered.
Tonight's total
The total like in just about every other hockey game this post season is sitting at 5.5 tonight. If you check out the numbers at PregameLines.com you will see just about every book sitting at 5.5 for the total and a number of -120, which seems pretty fair. However, if you go and check out Sportsbookspy.com you'll see that the OVER is getting hammered, probably by all the public hitting the number because of the first two games of this series. Maybe the public themselves is going to get hammered tonight. More than 90% of the bets coming in on this total are hitting the OVER and the line won't move at all. Just a bit to look at before you make that bet.
Tampa Bay
The Lightning were one of the best teams in the NHL this season at home, losing just 11 games. I think tonight is a major stepping point for this team if they are going to win the series. Dwayne Roloson HAS to play better tonight for the Lightning to win. From a fore-checking perspective Tampa Bay has done what it has needed to. They've also scored the goals they've needed to in order to win games. But Roloson dropped the ball in Game 2 and that's why they lost.
Boston Bruins
From what I've been told, it's still not sure whether or not Patrice Bergeron will play or not in tonight's contest. I think he is still a major factor in order for this Bruins team to be able to win on the road. They scored a couple of power play goals last game and did get a very good effort from youngster Tyler Seguin and we'll see if he can keep it up tonight. Oh, and one more thing, if Tim Thomas gives up another five goals tonight, his team won't win. I know with the total moving down it probably makes more sense to take the Bruins in this contest, so be careful with who you go with tonight.
Official play: Tampa Bay Lightning -135
Comments — What are your thoughts on tonight's contest?