NHL Playoffs 2022: Odds, Hot Takes, Top Storylines for May 22 Schedule

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Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

Saturday’s schedule for the Stanley Cup playoffs featured only one game, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round series. That sets the stage for a busy Sunday, when three Game 3 matchups are set to take place.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes will each be looking to take a 3-0 lead in their respective series. Tampa Bay won two straight games on the road against the Florida Panthers, while Carolina took a 2-0 lead over the New York Rangers with a pair of wins on its home ice.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are currently tied at 1 with the series moving to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s schedule, along with odds, predictions and storylines to watch for.

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Game 3: Florida Panthers (-110; bet $110 to win $100) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-110), 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT

Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes (-115) at New York Rangers (-105), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Game 3: Calgary Flames (-120) at Edmonton Oilers (+100; bet $100 to win $100), 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Odds via NHL” target=”_blank”>DraftKings Sportsbook

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Reinhold Matay/Associated Press

The Panthers may have been the best team in the NHL in the regular season, but they’re in some trouble here in the second round. It’s never good to lose the first two games of a series on your home ice, and especially when you’re playing a team like the Lightning, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

Tampa Bay has outscored Florida 6-2 so far in the series, as goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has tallied 68 saves and made it difficult for the Panthers on that end of the ice. And now, the Lightning will have their home crowd posing even more challenges for the Panthers when the series continues Sunday.

While Florida is a talented team, it’s hard to beat playoff experience this time of year. That’s how Tampa Bay continually finds a way to make deep postseason runs, even if there were numerous teams that fared better in the regular season.

Could the Lightning end up sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy winner? It’s quite possible at this point. But at the least, Tampa Bay is going to win Game 3 behind another strong showing by Vasilevskiy that will put it one victory away from ending the series.

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Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

It’s not a huge surprise that the Hurricanes have jumped out to a 2-0 lead for the second round in a row. They’ve been unbeatable at home so far this postseason, having won each of their first six games at PNC Arena. Now, they just need to find that same level of success on the road.

After losing all three of its away contests in its first-round series against the Boston Bruins, Carolina is on the road for Games 3 and 4 against the New York Rangers. If the Hurricanes can keep their momentum going after winning the first two games by a combined score of 4-1, this series could potentially end in New York soon.

Goaltender Antti Raanta has been a big reason for Carolina’s recent success, as he hasn’t allowed a goal since the first period of Game 1. He recorded 21 saves while posting a shutout in Game 2.

It seems like the Hurricanes are the better team, and they could be on their way to a sweep if they can fare a bit better on the road. Expect that to start in Game 3, when they may even get more offense going in support of Raanta’s continued stellar play.

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Derek Leung/Getty Images

After allowing nine goals in a Game 1 loss, the Oilers bounced back in Game 2, notching a 5-3 win. Edmonton is playing well on the offensive end, having scored 11 goals in the series thus far, and its defense was improved last time out.

The Flames had a 3-1 lead early in the second period of Game 2, before the Oilers reeled off four unanswered goals to earn the win. That’s the type of offensive flurry that Edmonton is capable of, as Leon Draisaitl (seven goals this postseason) and Connor McDavid (six) continue to power its attack.

It could end up being big that the Oilers won one of the first two games in Calgary. And as long as goaltender Mike Smith doesn’t have the type of slow start he had in the Game 1 loss, Edmonton could be in position to soon take control of this series.

That will happen in Game 3, as the Oilers should continue excelling on offense and play well enough on defense to avoid the type of high-scoring loss it suffered in the series opener.

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