As they overcame a 3-2 deficit against the New Jersey Devils in 2001 to win the second title in their history, the Colorado Avalanche are experienced with Stanley Cup Final comebacks. On Friday, Colorado will host Game 5 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final in an effort to prevent the Tampa Bay Lightning from starting to climb out of a deeper deficit and winning its third championship. On Wednesday, the Avalanche took a 3-1 series lead after overcoming two one-goal deficits. Nazem Kadri’s goal came at 12:02 of overtime. The Lightning have won a series after falling behind 3-1 once against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2011.
Puck drop will go off at 8 p.m. ET at Ball Arena in Denver. According to the most recent Avalanche vs. Lightning odds from Caesars Sportsbook, Colorado is the -180 favorite, and the over/under for goals scored is expected to be six. See what SportsLine NHL analyst Matt Severance has to say before making any predictions about the Lightning vs. Avalanche matchup or the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.
Odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook:
| June 24th 8 PM EST | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total Goals |
| Avalanche | -180 | -1.5 +150 | O 6.0 +100 |
| Lightning | +155 | +1.5 -175 | U 6.0 -120 |
How the Lightning Can Win
This playoffs, Tampa Bay has already risen to the occasion when it needed to, defeating Toronto in the first-round despite being down 3-2 in the series. After dropping the first two games in the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers, the Lightning were likewise written off, but they pulled off four straight wins to disprove the doubters.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is the better goalie in this series, has the utmost trust from the Lightning. After getting destroyed in the team’s 7-0 loss in Game 2, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner has calmed down and has given up just five goals in the past two games, three of which came on the power play. Vasilevskiy has made a total of 71 saves over the past two outings.
Anthony Cirelli has developed a reputation for igniting Tampa Bay’s attack, as he has done so in each of the team’s previous two games, tying Game 3 at 13:03 of the first period and scoring only 36 seconds into Game 4 of the series. Any team would find it challenging to defeat Tampa Bay in a seven-game series because of their back-end resilience and deep, dynamic attack with true star power.
Stanley Cup Game 5 Picks (odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook:
Lightning puck line +1.5: -175
Over 6 goals scored: +100