Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins | Game 7 - 2011 NHL Eastern Conference Finals Preview, Odds, Free Pick | Sportsbookbuzz.com

Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins

vs.

Line: Boston Bruins -1.5
Money Line: Tampa Bay +135, Boston -155
Over/Under: 5.5

The Eastern Conference Finals are now a best-of-one series as the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins will face-off in a winner-take-all Game 7 this Friday night at the TD Garden in Boston. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. (PT) and it will be broadcast nationally on VERSUS.

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Tampa Bay held off a late rush to grind out a 5-4 victory on Wednesday night as a 125 home favorite. It scored two power play goals in the second period and one early in the third to keep the series alive and force a seventh game. The Lightning are now 11-6 overall in the postseason and 6-3 on the road. They are 7-3 as an underdog and the total has gone ‘over’ in ten of the 17 games.

The top three scorers for the Lightning rose to the occasion on Wednesday night as Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell each scored twice and Vincent LeCavalier added two assists in the winning effort. These three have now combined for 22 goals and 56 total points in the postseason. Steve Downie and Steven Stamkos combined one goal and three assists to complete the scoring. Tampa Bay’s 3.37 goals-per-game average this postseason is the best in the league.

The Lightning went back to Dwayne Roloson in goal for this game after turning to backup Mike Smith in Game 5. Roloson gave up four goals on just 20 shots, but was able to hold off a furious Boston attack at the end of the third period with a few clutch saves. He should get the start on Friday, but Tampa Bay will undoubtedly have Smith ready to go if needed.

Boston is now in danger of getting eliminated for the second year in-a-row after building a lead in a series. It had a 2-1 and 3-2 series lead on Tampa but could not maintain the edge. The Bruins are now 11-6 overall this postseason and 6-3 at home. They are 8-4 as a favorite and the total has gone ‘over’ in 10 of the 17 games.

David Krejci did everything in his power to end this series with a rare playoff hat-trick to keep the Bruins in Wednesday’s game until the end. He now has 10 postseason goals and is tied with Nathan Horton with a team-high 16 points. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have also been a big part of Boston’s offense in the playoffs with a combined 27 points.

The outcome of this game and this series is ultimately in the hands of Boston goalie Tim Thomas. He had a stellar goals-against-average of 2.03 and a .937 save percentage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but has given up five goals in four of the six games. He played lights-out in the other two games; holding Tampa Bay to one goal on 65 shots.

The odds makers have the Boston Bruins as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 5.5.

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Prediction: The odds are not in the Lightning’s favor as they are 16-35-5 in their last 56 games against the Bruins and 4-20-4 in their last 28 games in Boston. Trends aside, the outcome of this game will come down to Boston’s ability to shutdown Tampa Bay’s big guns as it did twice before in this series. Fortunately for the home-town fans, Thomas comes up big one more time to help the Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

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