NHL Monday (8/31) night Single

Tampa Bay Lightning could potentially eliminate the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference second round tonight. The Lightnings won 3-1 on Saturday and they are also up 3-1 in the series, they have scored 14 goals in the past 3 games of this series and I find reasons to believe that they will score some goals also in game 5.

07.00 PM ET, Monday, August 31

Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Bruins 3-1 in game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round on Saturday to make it a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Boston won game 1 but the Lightning now have three straight wins and could potentially qualify for the next round tonight.

Boston Bruins have been outscored 10-2 if counting the two past games together but their performance in game 4 was a step in the right direction. Andrei Vasilievskiy made 29 saves to stop the Bruins from scoring more than one goal in this game. Lack of efficiency was the major reason why the Bruins lost this game.

Conclusions and betting play: The Lightning outshot the Bruins 108-80 in the first 3 games of this series but the Bruins outshot the Lightning 30-26 in game 4. In that sense, it was a step forward for Boston but overall the Lightning have been able to put more pressure in the attacking zone and from my point of view they have deserved their 3-1 lead in this series.

It is a tight series between two solid teams but the Lightning have proven to be the edgier team with the ability to more frequently create the open chances. Still, this series can go either way but I would not be that surprised if game 5 will be the last game of this series.

The Lightning have scored 14 goals in the past 3 games, they have scored at least 3 goals in 5 out of their 7 past games and at least 2 goals in all of these 7 games. The Bruins will have to push forward in this game and in the third period in particular if not having the lead and that could open up for counter-attacks that Tamp Bay surely have the ability to capitalize on.

Betting Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning – Over 2.5 goals (60 Mins) @ -127