Lightning go from underdogs to favorites
After dropping the first two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning the Washington Capitals need a road win on Tuesday night when the series heads down to Florida for Game 3.
In Game 2 on Sunday Vincent Lecavalier powered the Lightning to a 3-2 overtime victory with a pair of goals - including the OT winner. Martin St. Louis also had a two-point night with a goal and an assist, while Dwayne Roloson had another strong game in nets with 35 saves.
The Capitals got goals from Brooks Laich and Alexander Ovechkin, but their power play continued to fizzle in the loss. Washington was 0-for-6 with the extra man in Game 2, and they're a lackluster 0-for-11 on the power play in the series.
The Caps were a -190 favorite in the Game 2 loss and the oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com haven't abandoned them yet, listing both Washington and Tampa Bay at -110 for Game 3. However, it's a different story on the series odds. Washington began the series as a -220 favorite, but after losing the first two games they've dropped to a +260 underdog. The Lightning have gone from +155 underdogs in the series to a -340 favorite.
The Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators also clash in Game 2 of their series Tuesday night after splitting the first two games in Vancouver.
On Saturday night the Canucks and Predators needed double overtime to settle things, with Nashville's Matt Halischuk burying the winner in the second OT frame to give Nashville a 2-1 win. The goaltenders were the real stars of the contest, as Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for Nashville and Roberto Luongo stopped 44 shots for Vancouver.
Luongo nearly posted his second shutout of the series, but Ryan Suter stopped his streak with just over a minute to go in the third period to send the game to overtime. Alex Burrows scored the Canucks' lone goal, a shorthanded marker.
The series may be heading to Nashville, but the Canucks are a -125 favorite on the Game 3 NHL odds. Vancouver also remains the favorite in the series at -200, while the Predators are +160 series underdogs.
The easiest wager for bettors to make in this series is likely taking the UNDER on the posted total of 5 goals for Game 3. The first two games both went UNDER their posted totals, and the last six games between the Predators and Canucks also all went UNDER. In fact, in their last 14 matchups the UNDER is 11-3.