The home team has held serve in every game of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals so far but the New York Rangers are home underdogs for Thursday’s Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nitrobetting preps you for the NHL Conference Finals clash in this Lightning vs. Rangers Game 5 preview. We share helpful insights that cover team and player stats and the latest NHL betting odds. You can also find timely betting trends and predictions that point you in the right direction.

Lightning vs. Rangers Game 5 Information

Wheels up to NYC ???? pic.twitter.com/gdQjXuaPGU

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 8, 2022

• When: Thursday, June 9, 2022, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
• TV: ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS
• Radio: 970 WFLA AM (Lightning) // ESPN New York 98.7FM (Rangers)
• Live Stream: NHL Live
• NHL Betting Odds: Lightning (-132) / Rangers (+109)

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Why Bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning?

The first four games have been won by the home team, the first time it’s happened in a conference final since the 1991 Wales Conference Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.

Tampa Bay evened the series with a fairly dominant 4-1 win in Game 2 on Tuesday. With New York’s lone goal coming on the power play late in the third, Bolts netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy has now gone two-straight games without allowing an even strength goal.

Vasilevskiy kicked out 34 of 35 shots. He nearly earned a shutout, but he was finally beaten by Artemi Panarin at 16:27 of the third period. Vasilevskiy improved to 10-5 with a 2.44 GAA and .925 save percentage in 15 playoff contests this year.

Pat Maroon got the scoring started less than three minutes into the game when he swatted home a rebound. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos followed up in the second and third periods to provide the insurance before Ondrej Palat put the game out of reach with an empty netter just before time expired.

“We’ve progressively gotten better, and I think we took some more positive steps tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We had a bit of a layoff, and I think now we’re starting to find our game and now we just have to keep this going in New York.”

Kucherov’s goal came at 13:07 of the second period and it proved to be the game winner. That marker gives him seven goals and 21 points in 15 postseason games this year. He also has 148 career playoff points, which puts him in a tie with Brian Propp for 31st place on the all-time scoring list. It was Stamkos’ seventh goal and 13th point in 15 playoff games this year. Palat added two assists and is up to seven goals and 13 points in 15 playoff contests this year. Maroon got the scoring started just 2:38 minutes into the game. It was his third goal and fourth point in 15 playoff contests this year.

Why Bet on the New York Rangers?

Panarin scored the Rangers’ lone goal Tuesday. Frank Vatrano and Chris Kreider assisted on Panarin’s goal. Igor Shesterkin turned aside 27 of 30 shots, Shesterkin surrendered a goal in each period of the contest. He still has a 10-7 record, 2.65 GAA, and .929 save percentage in 18 playoff starts this year.

Coach Gerard Gallant feels the Rangers need to dig deeper if they’re going to win the Eastern Conference Finals and play harder in Game 4: “Not enough. Not enough. We didn’t block enough shots, we didn’t finish enough hits, we didn’t do enough of the good things that allow you to win hockey games. We didn’t get inside enough. [Andrei] Vasilevskiy made some good saves but not as many as Shesty [Igor Shesterkin]. We’ve got to give him more than that.”

Forward Ryan Strome didn’t play due to injury and his status is unclear for Game 5. As a result, Kevin Rooney drew back into the lineup for the first time since Game 5 of the second-round series against the Hurricanes. Fellow forward Filip Chytil suffered an upper-body injury during Tuesday’s contest when he collided into Victor Hedman during the second period. Chytil left the game and didn’t return before its conclusion. He has seven goals and nine points in 17 playoff games.

Though he scored a goal in Game 3 to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, leading scorer Mika Zibanejad has been relatively quiet the past two games. In Game 5 at the Garden, with the home team getting to make the final line change, Gallant will have the option to try keeping Zibanejad away from Tampa’s checking line led by Anthony Cirelli.

Lightning vs. Rangers Betting Trends

• Lightning are 1-5 in their last 6 games as a road favorite.
• Lightning are 6-1 in their last 7 games following a win.
• The total went under in 8 of Tampa Bay’s last 9 games.
• Rangers are 44-20 in their last 64 home games.
• Rangers are 5-1 in their last 6 games as a home underdog.
• The total went under in 8 of NY Rangers’ last 11 games.

Lightning vs. Rangers Expert Betting Predictions

Lightning 3, Rangers 2.

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*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.