Posted at 2:30 EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ +442 BET365 -½ +450 SportsInteraction -½ +421 888Sport -½ +415

Arizona -½ +450 over Tampa Bay

5:07 PM EST. Other than the obvious, which is that this is a hockey game and anything can happen, there is a damn good case to be made here for the Coyotes. First, we’ll take you back to the Lightning's last game, which was against the Rangers on Thursday night. We backed the Rags in that game and ran into a hell of a hot goalie in the Bolts Andrei Vasilevskiy. If you tuned into that game at all, you know how electric it was. We’ll stop there and preset exhibit A, the headline from the Tampa Bay Times:

What’s missing here is just how intense the atmosphere was, as it was described by those in the building as” electric,” and “playoff like.” In December, that’s pretty damn good. Moreover, don’t forget how many New York transplants live, vacation and visit Tampa every year. Make no mistake this one was a big one that was circled on everyone’s calendar.

The Bolts now play against these strangers from Arizona after an intense game vs New York. Andrei Vasilevskiy played in back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday so it’s expected that Brian Elliott will play, but even if he doesn’t we really don’t care. This has to be a letdown spot for anyone that played in that Rangers game Thursday night.

Arizona is easy to overlook, but they are a spunky little team that is knocking off some big dogs. Recent wins against Colorado and Toronto are not to be overlooked, nor is one against tough-as-nails Los Angeles. The ‘Yotes are not dregs. They are not some minor league team. They are not frauds. They are a tough out that is worthy of a wager against anyone in this league at a price like this in a favorable position.