Online Sports Betting Overview The 2011 Preakness Stakes betting is heating up, and so is the NHL conference finals. The NHL hockey news coming out of Boston for game one of the Eastern Conference finals was promising for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A 5-2 win over Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins, on Bruins home ice, looked to set the tone for the rest of the series. But the pay per head fans in Boston know that the Bruins are not going to go quietly in this series. The Bruins were embarrassed in last year’s playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers, and they intended on putting up a much better showing this year. With a healthy Tim Thomas in goal, the Bruins are starting to take this series over and pave their way to the Stanley Cup finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning were a great story for the media all season long. The team struggled out of the gate, but eventually found its skating legs. The goaltending situation was in shambles until 41-year-old Dwayne Roloson was picked up early in the season. Roloson stepped in and gave the Lightning the stability they needed in net. From there, Steven Stamkos and the rest of the Tampa scoring machine kicked in. But the Bruins offer a challenge that Tampa has not met in the playoffs yet. The Bruins are big, strong, fast and backed by a Vezina Trophy winning goaltender. It is going to take much more than offense to beat the Boston Bruins. Tampa Bay Lightning It took the Bruins a couple of games, but they finally caught up to the Lightning scorers. Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis did not have a lot of open ice in game three to move around in. Every time the Lightning tried to go to the front of the net, the Bruins would knock them back. The Lightning still has complete faith in Dwayne Roloson, so it is not out of the question that Tampa will start putting its defensemen into the offensive zone play. But they tried that in game two and wound up losing the game 6-5. Tampa needs to go back to using their speed to beat the Bruins. The Lightning need to keep cycling in the offensive zone and keep that puck moving. As soon as they stand still, the Bruins will hammer them. Boston Bruins The Bruins have never cared which building they are playing in, so the idea of home ice advantage does not really apply in this series. Tim Thomas was excellent in game three as he turned away 31 Tampa shots for the shutout win, and that included a 15-shot third period. The Bruins need to tighten up on defense in the third period if they want to win game four. They cannot allow the Lightning to walk in unopposed and take shots at Thomas all game long. The Bruins forwards looked to be struggling with the smaller but more agile Tampa defense in game three, but they did get two goals through. The series, and the Stanley Cup, for Boston rides on the shoulders of Tim Thomas. The Bruins can help their goalie out by using their size on defense to keep the Lightning away from the shooting lanes. The Bottom Line The Bruins have lost some of their edge lately, and that is hurting them. The Bruins used to have a really bad attitude, but it looks like they are trying to play straight-ahead hockey in this series. Once the Bruins get their nasty streak back, they become favorites to win it all again in the 2010-2011 season. Pick: Boston Bruins
