Posted at 4:30 PM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ +113  BET365  -½ +120 Sportsinteraction -½ +115 888Sport -½ +115

New Jersey -½ +120 over Tampa Bay

7:07 PM EST. Regulation only. This is the bargain of the day because the Lightning are still considered to be elite but they’re not. From goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to d-man Victor Hedman to the star power and to the supporting cast, the Bolts are an average hockey team that has probably played more hockey over the past five years than any other hockey team on the planet. Tampa has dropped 10 of its last 15 games. There ain’t no switches to turn on anymore. Tampa’s only two wins over their past nine games occurred against Chicago and Philadelphia. Its last four wins occurred against Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Anaheim. It’s been over a month since the Bolts beat a team going to the playoffs and that win came against a Colorado squad missing everybody. The Devils are -130 today and if you do not like playing games in regulation, -130 or thereabouts is still the steal of the day. The Devils should roll this burned out, average squad.

For Eastern teams, the path to the Stanley Cup has been through Tampa Bay for five years. This is truly an opportunity for the Devils to show the Bolts who’s boss now. Call this the proverbial “passing of the torch” because the Bolts are no longer a top-5 team in the East. New Jersey, Boston, Toronto, the Rangers and Carolina are all superior to Tampa but the Bolts pedigree is so good over the last half decade that they are getting way too much credit here at these odds. The Devils should be -180 and not -130. In any case, luck plays a big outcome in games. We had New Jersey the night they dominated Vegas (outchanced them 54-22 and lost) but there is nothing we can do about that. The Devils will not get outplayed here. They figure to dominate the Bolts just like they have been dominating teams almost all year. They got better at the trade deadline and unless we get very unlucky here, we’ll be cashing this ticket in regulation. Bet on it.

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