Avalanche vs Lightning odds and predictions: who is the favorite to win the 2022 Stanley Cup?
The Stanley Cup final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning provides an interesting matchup where the numbers are not the whole story
The Stanley Cup final is here and we have a stellar matchup, on paper at least. The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to make their dominance into a dynasty, looking to become Stanley Cup champions for the third consecutive year. If anyone has anything to say about that, it is the Colorado Avalanche, heavily favored to win the Cup right from the time the first odds were posted at the beginning of the season.
Colorado is an almost 2-1 favorite to lift their first Stanley Cup in twenty years, and favored, albeit at a lower spread, to win Game 1.
Here’s a look at both teams’ chances.
The case for the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado have scored at least three goals in all but two of their 14 matches, tying them for first place in playoff goals with Edmonton. During the Western Conference finals, they swept the Oilers in four straight, outscoring them 22-13 in the process.
26-year-old Nathan MacKinnon scored 32 over 65 regular season games, and has been the stalwart of the Avalanche’s attack in the post season with 18 points, scoring at least once in 12 of Colorado’s 14 games.
The weapons on offer don’t stop with MacKinnon, though, with Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog easch putting up similar numbers in the post season.
The case for the Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have not lost a post season series since 2019, and are now in the final for the third straight year. They have started slow in each round, but in every case have rallied to come from behind. Their experience is their greatest asset, and they look to carry that into their third straight Stanley Cup final victory.
With seasoned veterans taking the lead role, Tampa Bay are proving to be adept at staying calm when they are up against it. Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos all scored game-winning goals, with the 28-year-old Kucherov riding a five-game streak in which he has at least three goals and five assists. Keeper Andrei Vasilevskiy seems to have shaken off his earlier slump and stiffened at the back in the Rangers series, allowing only five goals in four games.