Colorado and Tampa Bay continue their battle in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final with Game 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday, June 26, so we bring you the best Avalanche vs. Lightning betting pick and odds.  

The Avalanche head to Florida as slight -115 moneyline favorites on MyBookie Sportsbook. The Lightning are listed as -105 home underdogs, and the totals sit at 6.0 goals. 

The Avs blew their first chance to seal the title                           

The Colorado Avalanche have a 3-2 lead in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final following a tough 3-2 defeat in Game 5 at home. They outshot the Lighting 37-29 and posted ten hits more than their opponents (43-33), but it wasn’t enough. 

The Avs rallied from a one-goal deficit twice, as defenseman Cale Makar and winger Valeri Nichushkin found the back of the net. These two guys also accounted for one assist apiece, so Makar now has three goals and four dishes in this series. 

Darcy Kuemper surrendered three goals on 29 shots in Game 5 and fell to 9-4 with a 2.69 GAA and a .898 save percentage in the 2022 NHL Playoffs. Kuemper was outstanding in a 3-2 overtime victory at Amalie Arena in Game 4, posting 37 stops with a .949 save percentage. 

The Avs’ dream of a three-peat is still alive                       

The Tampa Bay Lightning tried their best last Friday and managed to force Game 6 in front of the home fans. The two-time defending champions went 1-for-4 with the man advantage and killed both of Colorado’s power-play opportunities while committing only three giveaways on the night. 

Jan Rutta scored his first goal of the postseason to make it 1-0 with 4:37 left to play in the first period. Nikita Kucherov scored in the second period to give the Bolts a 2-1 lead and snap his six-game goalless streak, while Ondrej Palat scored the winner after 13:38 of play in the third period. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy has a big night in Denver, Colorado. The 27-year-old netminder posted 35 saves to lift his team over the Avalanche. Vasilevskiy is now 14-8 with a 2.54 GAA and .921 save percentage in the 2022 Stanley Cup. 

Trends:

Colorado: 

  • N/A 

Tampa Bay:

  • 12-5 in the last 17 games overall 
  • 8-1 in the last nine games at home  

Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Pick 

The Avalanche missed a huge opportunity to get the job done. Now, they have to deal with the Bolts at Amalie Arena, and the reigning champs have won eight of their previous nine showings on the home ice. 

I think Colorado is a better team than Tampa Bay, but the Bolts have a better goaltender. Although Darcy Kuemper is a top-notch goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been unstoppable over the last three postseasons. I’m going with Tampa Bay to force Game 7 only because of Vasilevskiy. 

Pick: Take Tampa Bay Lightning at -105              

The Total:

As expected, the Avalanche are trying their best to push the tempo in this series. They’ve taken a ton of shots toward Andrei Vasilevskiy, but only one of the previous five games has gone over the total along with a push at six goals in the opener. 

I lean the over in Game 6, expecting another up-tempo encounter. But you never know with Andrei Vasilevskiy, so Tampa Bay to win remains my best Avalanche vs. Lightning betting pick. 

Pick: Go over 6.0 goals at +105