Lightning seek to close out Stars as Game 6 favourites

Tampa Bay Lightning centre Brayden Point (21) celebrates his goal against the Dallas Stars with teammate Nikita Kucherov (86) during second period NHL Stanley Cup finals action in Edmonton on Friday, September 25, 2020. (Jason Franson / CP)

The Tampa Bay Lightning will get another chance to close out their Stanley Cup Final clash with the Dallas Stars on Monday night when they hit the ice for Game 6 of the best-of-seven series as -160 favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Tampa Bay squandered a one-goal lead in the third period of Game 5 on Saturday night on their way to a 3-2 defeat in double overtime, which cut the team's lead in the series to 3-2 going into Monday night's matchup at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Despite Saturday night's disappointing result, which also marked the club's second loss in its past four contests settled in overtime, the Lightning remain heavy -550 favourites on the NHL playoff series prices to eventually claim their first Stanley Cup win since 2004.

The Lightning outpaced Dallas on offence but were once again thwarted by Stars netminder Anton Khudobin, who regained his impressive playoff form while turning aside 39 of 41 shots. Tampa Bay also matched the Stars' physical play, racking up 64 hits against a Dallas team that has been hobbled by injury. However, with the Stars taking just one penalty in the contest, Tampa Bay was denied another opportunity to use its potent power play to its advantage after potting six total goals with the man advantage over the previous three games.

The Lightning have struggled to fill the net at even strength, averaging just 1.86 goals per game over their past seven contests. That trend has contributed to the total dipping to 5.0 for Monday's contest. However the UNDER has yet to pay out in this series at online betting sites, lifting the OVER to a short -140 for Monday.

After extending the series with Saturday's victory the Stars now look to Game 6 as +140 underdogs. Contributions from veterans up front that have kept the Stars alive in this series. Corey Perry found the back of the net for a second straight game in Game 5, potting the opening goal and the game winner. Tyler Seguin showed clear signs of putting his scoring slump behind him, assisting on all three goals, and has five helpers in the past two games.

Dallas owns a solid track record in Game 6 appearances while trailing 3-2 in a series, going 6-6 in its past 12 such outings. However, with the team still battling injuries that have sidelined Blake Comeau, Radek Faksa, and Roope Hintz, the Stars continue to lag as +425 longshots on the series prices.

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