Bet on Lightning vs. Rangers Game 5 With Borgata Code VICOMBONUS for $100 in free bets when you bet $20

Rolando Rosa Sports Betting Expert

2 minute read

The Eastern Conference Finals will pick back up on Thursday night for Game 5 when the visiting back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning clash with the New York Rangers. Coverage on ESPN will begin at 8 p.m. ET from Madison Square Garden.

The Lightning defeated the visiting Rangers 4-1 in Game 4 to even the series at 2. Nikita Kucherov scored a breakaway goal and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy tallied 33 saves in the victory for the Lightning. Pat Maroon, Ondrej Palat, and Steven Stamkos recorded the other three Lightning goals. 

Updated on 12/26/2024

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Kucherov scored the second period breakaway goal on a pass from Palat in the middle of the ice and got the puck by Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin to put the Lightning ahead by two. Maroon scored his goal off a rebound only 2:38 into the game. Stamkos pushed the lead to 3-0 with his goal early in the third period. Palat, who also added two assists, wrapped up the scoring with his empty-netter with 8.7 to go. 

Vasilevskiy had another dominant showing in the net after tallying 28 stops on 30 shots during the Lightning’s 3-2 comeback victory in Game 3. Artemi Panarin collected the lone goal for the Rangers on a power play with 16:27 left in the contest. That was the Rangers’ first goal since Chris Kreider scored on a power play with 9:44 in the second period of Game 3. 

Shesterkin, who was pelted with 51 shots in Game 3, stopped 27 of 30 shots in Game 4. 

The Lightning are aiming to become the first team to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions since the New York Islanders captured four titles in a row from 1980-83. The Rangers won Games 1 and 2 at home during this series and are 8-1 at Madison Square Garden in these playoffs. 

After their back-to-back victories to tie the series, the visiting Lightning are favored by 1.5 goals in Game 5. This comes after the Lightning were favored by the same amount prior to their Game 4 victory. The Lightning are 8-2 in their last 10 overall games and 51-23 in their last 74 contests as the favorite. 

The Rangers are 4-2 in the last six games overall and 2-8 in their last ten contests as an underdog. The underdog is 5-2 overall in the last seven meetings between the Rangers and Lightning. 

The over/under is set for 5.5 goals for Game 5. This was the same over/under amount for Game 4, with the UNDER occurring. The UNDER is 10-3-1 in the last 14 playoff contests when the Rangers are underdogs. The UNDER is 8-1 in the last nine contests overall for the Lightning. The UNDER is also 5-1-1 in the last seven Conference Finals games for the Lightning. In the last 17 games as the favorite, the OVER is 11-6 for the Lightning. With the stakes critical for Game 5, count on both elite goalies stepping up to the challenge and the UNDER happening again. 

The Lightning will cover the spread and take Game 5 on the road to move within one victory of squaring off vs. the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.  

Written by Rolando Rosa, our US sports betting industry expert.

Rolando Rosa

Rolando Rosa is a South Florida native and graduate of Florida Atlantic University. Rolando is a sports editor/writer and has worked on casino content for the past few years across multiple websites. More from Rolando Rosa