The Tampa Bay Lightning lost the first two games against the New York Rangers on the road in the Eastern Conference final before reeling off four consecutive victories to secure their third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The two-time defending champions will need to overcome the same obstacle if they hope to win their third crown in a row. The Lightning look to begin their comeback when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday for Game 3 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Tampa Bay, which seeks to become the first team to win at least three consecutive Cups since the New York Islanders captured four straight from 1980-83, lost the series opener in overtime before being obliterated by the Avalanche 7-0 in Game 2.

Puck drop at Amalie Arena in Tampa is set for 8 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay is the slight -115 favorite (risk $115 to win $100) on the money line in the latest Avalanche vs. Lightning odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The over-under for goals is set at six (see the latest lines for every game on our NHL odds page).

Before making any Lightning vs. Avalanche picks, you NEED to see the latest NHL predictions from the SportsLine hockey insider Matt Severance.

Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He's SportsLine's top NHL handicapper, going 136-71-4 in his last 211 NHL picks and returning well over $2,900 for $100 players. Anyone who has followed him is WAY UP.

Severance knows Colorado's offense has been virtually unstoppable this postseason as it has produced a league-leading 76 goals over 16 games. The Avalanche have netted five or more tallies in half of those contests and recorded at least seven on four occasions. They've scored 11 goals in the first two games of the Final without much help from Nathan MacKinnon, who is second in the NHL with 11 playoff tallies but has notched only two assists in the series.

The expert also knows Tampa Bay has won seven straight at home since losing 5-2 to Toronto in Game 3 of their first-round series. The Lightning have outscored their opponents 27-11 during the winning streak and allowed a total of five goals over the last five contests. Tampa Bay may not have to contend with Colorado left wing Andre Burakovsky, who scored the overtime winner in Game 1 before recording a tally and an assist in Game 2.

Now, Severance has set his sights on Avalanche vs. Lightning, and we can tell you he's leaning Over on the total. He's also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the money line! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any NHL picks of your own.

So who wins Avalanche vs. Lightning in Game 3 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final? And which side of the money line has ALL the value? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Lightning vs. Avalanche money line you should be all over on Monday, all from the expert who has crushed his NHL picks!