Pick for Avalanche vs. Lightning Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 – June 20th (2022)

The Stanley Cup Finals are headed to Tampa Bay, as the Lightning will host the Colorado Avalanche. Tampa Bay will be glad to be playing on their home ice, as the first two games of the series have not gone their way.

On the other hand, the Avalanche are flying high at 2-0 in the series. They just have to win two of the next five games, while the Lightning will have the harder challenge of winning four. The Lightning have won the Stanley Cup Finals in each of the last two seasons, so they are more than capable of overcoming tough challenges.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the Avalanche vs. Lightning odds for Game 3 to see who’s favored to win.

Here are the Avalanche vs. Lightning betting odds for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. As you can see, the best NHL betting sites aren’t giving a favorite for this game. That means it should be a very close battle and could go either way.

BetOnline is offering slightly better odds for both teams, but the difference is still minimal. They are giving the home team in the Lightning the slight advantage, but the Avalanche don’t have positive odds like most underdogs.

Just by looking at the Avalanche vs. Lightning odds, you can see how competitive this game should be. Game 1 of this series went to overtime before Andre Burakovsky won the game for Colorado.

Game 1’s hero ended up taking a puck to the hand in Game 2. Burakovsky didn’t travel with the team, so the Avalanche will likely miss him here. Nazem Kadri is trending in the right direction, but he’s also unlikely to return in this one.

Tampa Bay is fully healthy, so they’ll look to take advantage of the Avs’ banged-up lineup. Is that enough to make them the best option of our Avalanche vs. Lightning betting picks? Let’s break down the match up a bit further before we make our final decision.

Before we make our Avalanche vs. Lightning predictions for Game 3, let’s break down the first two games and preview the next one. As I said earlier, the Avalanche have been able to take a 2-0 series lead. With that being said, Games 1 and 2 were slightly different.

Colorado came out firing in the first one, going up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes. Tampa Bay answered with a goal themselves, but the Avs tacked on a power-play goal by Artturi Lehkonen to end the first period up 3-1.

The Avs looked way sharper than the Lightning in the first period, outshooting them 15 to 8. After that, the Lightning were able to tie things up in the second period. Neither team scored in the 3rd, but the Avs were able to escape in overtime.

Game 2 was much different and wasn’t close at all. Colorado started very fast again with 3 goals, but the Lightning didn’t score. In fact, the Lightning were shut out due to the Avs dominating puck possession. Darcy Kuemper only faced 16 shots all night on his way to a shutout.

"That was the most dominant, best team game performance I've ever seen in my lifetime." 🤯 #StanleyCup

High praise from a man who's seen quite a lot of hockey in his day, Mark Messier.

📺: Game 3 tomorrow at 8pm ET on ABC, @ESPNPlus and @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/lNZc8dMkyK

— NHL (@NHL) June 19, 2022

Colorado’s lethal offense was on full display and had one of the most dominating performances in Stanley Cup history. The only game that was more out of hand was the Penguins’ 8-0 win over the North Stars in 1991.

Heading into Game 3, the Lightning should get a nice boost on their home ice. Maybe that can spark their lineup and get their first win of the series. Let’s make some Avalanche vs. Lightning picks for player props before our official game pick.

The last time we made our Avalanche vs. Lightning picks for player props, Mikhail Sergachev and Valeri Nichushkin came through for us. We are going to try them again here, while also adding in Nicholas Paul and Darren Helm to the mix.

Sergachev scored a goal in Game 1 and had 3 shots. He didn’t register a shot in Game 2, which is a rare occurrence for him. He’s gotten 3+ shots in the previous 4 games in a row and at least one shot in the previous 7.

Paul has gotten 1 and 2 shots in the first two games of the series and should be able to reach 2 again. He’s one of the four players to get 20+ minutes of time on ice, despite being blown out by 7 in Game 2.

Tampa Bay should have some more momentum on their side since they’re at home, so players like Sergachev and Paul should be able to get more shots.

Valeri Nichushkin is having himself one heck of a #StanleyCup Final. 🤩

📺: Game 3 tomorrow at 8pm ET on ABC, @ESPNPlus and @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/HkcG3zsEE4

— NHL (@NHL) June 19, 2022

Helm’s plus odds to get just 2+ shots make him one of my top Avalanche vs. Lightning betting picks for Game 3. He’s not on the first line, but he’s aggressive when he’s out there. Helm was able to reach 4 and 2 shots in the first two games and has 2+ shots in 7 straight games. His Avalanche vs. Lightning betting odds just seems a little too good to be true.

Nichushkin has gotten a ton of shots in this series so far, as well as 3 total goals. He shot 6 times in Game 1 for 1 goal, and had 5 shots for 2 goals in Game 2. Him and Helm should benefit from Kadri’s absence and now Burakovsky could miss this one.

Now that we have some player props in for Game 3, let’s make our Avalanche vs. Lightning expert pick.

At the end of the day, my Avalanche vs. Lightning prediction will be the over. Colorado’s 7 goals in Game 2 would be enough to cash the over by itself. It’s unlikely that they get to 7 goals in this one, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

If you are looking for a team to bet on, you really can go either way. Both of these teams made it to the Stanley Cup Finals because they have loads of talent. Colorado appeared to be on another level than Tampa Bay in the last one, but the Lightning don’t often lose more than one game in a row.

Check out our sports betting picks page for more recommended bets.