This is a 10* FINALS GAME OF THE YEAR on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Chicago is back in the Finals for the third time in the last six seasons with its 5-3 win over the Ducks on Saturday, while the Lightning held on for a 2-0 victory at MSG to advance. Tampa Bay earned home-ice advantage because it had six more points than Chicago during the regular season. Note that these two teams split a pair of regular season games, the Hawks won 3-2 in a shootout on November 11th, before the Bolts struck back with a 4-0 victory on February 27th. Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop was particularly effective against Chicago in those games, stopping 65 of 67 shots, while captain Steven Stamkos was also extremely productive with two goals and three overall points. Tampa Bay may not have the storied history that Chicago does, but it's still the first team ever to play four Original Six teams in one Stanley Cup Playoff. If you're watching the NHL at this time of year, then you're more than just a casual fan, so breaking down individual player match-ups isn't really important, these teams are in fact very evenly matched, a sentiment clearly shared by the oddsmakers. Both are loaded with plenty of offensive talent and veteran leadership and each is backed by superb goaltending. So where's the advantage? I simply can't understate how important I think that the "home ice advantage" is in Game 1. NO ONE was better on home ice than the Lightning were this season, finishing at 32-8-1. And it's as simple as that for me, in my professional opinion, this is the very definition of "great line value," play on TAMPA BAY.

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