The Lightning blew a late third period lead when Boston forced overtime, but Tampa Bay persevered to a 4-3 win. We’ve not got a quick turnaround for Game 3 as the teams will play Wednesday night in a back-to-back (for some reason). Who’ll get the win and get the upper hand in this series?

Lightning vs. Bruins Betting Analysis

The Lightning have been in a back-to-back situation 12 times this season and have gone 8-4 in those games. They have now won 15 of their last 22 against teams with a winning record.

The Bruins have been in a back-to-back situation 12 times as well but they are only 5-7 on the year in that spot. They are just 11-11 after allowing four goals or more in their previous game.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning are coming off a much better team effort in Game 2. They got some bad news early in the day when defenseman Ryan McDonagh was ruled out for Game 2. He leads the team in Time On Ice per game this postseason. However, the team banded together and got a number of surprise contributions. Blake Coleman scored twice, Barclay Goodrow had an assist, while blue liners Zach Bogosian and Kevin Shattenkirk also had helpers.

While the story of Game 3 will be who the Bruins will put in net, the reality is the Lightning have to be worried about their netminder. Jaroslav Halak did allow four goals but that was on 40 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy again didn’t look great, allowing three goals on 25 shots, which translates to an .880 save percentage. He has an .893 save percentage on the series so far and that’s a problem. If Boston gets more pucks at the net and that number doesn’t improve, the Bruins will start lighting the lamp with regularity.

Boston Bruins

A big key to Wednesday’s game will be their decision of which goalie to go with. They have been using Jaroslav Halak since lead goaltender Tuukka Rask opted out of the bubble and for the most part, Halak has been fine. However, he’s coming off his worst effort yet and the teams are in a back-to-back situation. If there was a time to give him a breather, it might be now. Halak doesn’t deserve to be benched but he is 35 years old and fatigue could catch up to him.

The Lightning might have momentum but that’s just by appearance only. This is a topic for media pundits to discuss but it’s not something that’s real for these experienced sides. They’ll know how to regroup and Tuesday’s loss in overtime isn’t going to sting as some people think.

Who Will Win Lightning vs. Bruins?

LIGHTNING

Away

3

BRUINS

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