Lightning Beat Jackets 3-2 to Take Over Second Place

Stamkos has found his offense

The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up a huge win at home over the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Friday to take a one point lead over the Montreal Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division. This is huge going into the final regular season game at the Washington Capitals because a win and the Bolts will clinch home ice for the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Goalie Kristers Gudlevskis made his NHL debut with 36 saves for his first win. The Bolts scored three times in the second period, two by Eric Brewer.

The loss hurts the Jackets who are trying to get into the third spot over the Philadelphia Flyers, The two teams went into the final two regular season games ties with 91 points each. Now the Flyers still have two games left to one for Columbus. The Wild Card teams will face one of the division winners, either the Boston Bruins or the Pittsburgh Penguins. There are no playoff spots still up for grabs, only positioning.

In the Western Conference there were seven teams who had clinched which left one more spot. That spot was clinched on Friday by the Dallas Stars with a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Stars last playoff appearance was 2008 but their drought ended as they scored twice in the second period on goals from Tyler Segiun and Trevor Daley.

So there are no more playoff spots up for grabs going into the final weekend of the regular season. So let us look at some of the odds to win the Stanley Cup.

Top Bet has the following odds on winning the Stanley Cup.

Boston Bruins- +325

St; Louis Blues- +450

Chicago Blackhawks- +600

Anaheim Ducks- +700

Pittsburgh Penguins- +850

San Jose Sharks- +1000

Colorado Avalanche- +1000

Los Angeles Kings- +1200

Our picks- We like the Kings +1200. They’ve won this before and the odds are right. We also like the Ducks +700. So look for the Stanley Cup to wind up in Southern California this year.