We are down to just one series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning start the battle for the oldest existing trophy in North American professional sports on Wednesday.
Will some of the big-hitters make a huge impact already in Game 1? Bookmaker Bovada has the line set at +115 for Nathan MacKinnon to collect more points than Nikita Kucherov. The odds are at +145 for the Russian to have more points than Colorado’s star centerman and the odds are at +250 for the two to register the same amount of points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 14th, 7:30 A.M. (EST)
Kucherov is just two points short of becoming the fourth player in NHL history to reach the 25-point mark in three consecutive postseasons. He enters the final with a five-game point streak and will definitely be one to watch throughout the series.
MacKinnon is tied for the second-most goals these playoffs with 11 markers and boasts 18 points in total across 14 outings. He’s one of the best postseason performers in league history averaging 1.36 points per game, which puts him sixth on the all-time list.
It’s very difficult to keep MacKinnon quiet and even if you somehow manage to do it, you still have to deal with a number of other threats, which makes the 2022 final probably Tampa’s biggest challenge over the last three years.
The Lightning could get some help for Game 1 as Brayden Point is working towards his return. He’s missed 10 games with a lower-body injury and head coach Jon Cooper has confirmed that Point is on his way back. The Lightning have done very well without him, but the addition of Point gives them another player who averages over a point per game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Avalanche have suffered a number of injuries during the postseason and will definitely sweat the most on the status of Nazem Kadri who suffered a broken thumb in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against Edmonton. It initially looked like he was done for the season but there have been reports of him possibly being able to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The goal-tending is going to be massively important and the Avalanche have their No. 1 keeper in Darcy Kuemper back from injury for the finals. He will need to out-battle Andrei Vasilevskiy who is heating up with a four-game winning streak. Last year’s playoff MVP saved 106 of 111 shots after opening up the Eastern Conference Finals with two losses.
