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The&nbsp;Tampa Bay Lightning&nbsp;had one opportunity after another to complete the sweep over the&nbsp;Montreal Canadiens,&nbsp;but they couldn’t get it done.



Is it possible that they have allowed the Habs, who came back from down 3-1 to beat Toronto in the opening playoff round, a chance they’ll come to regret?



Some BetAnySports customers might be feeling that way. But the Bolts have every reason to feel confident as they go into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, which begins at 8:05 PM ET on Wednesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa (on NBC).



Or will it?



Hurricane Elsa looms over the proceedings, and we wonder whether damage done by the storm, which was upgraded late on Tuesday, will affect the ability of fans to attend. After all, one could expect flooding and power outages.



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We could sense that there was indeed a power shortage in the Tampa Bay power play in Game 4. The Lightning had ten minutes worth of chances, but could not cash in, as we recall the Canadiens and their ability to kill off everything for 13 consecutive games coming into this series.



The most dramatic sequence may have taken place during a stretch that spanned the end of regulation and spilled into overtime. Shea Weber went off for high-sticking, in what was called a four-minute penalty. For 1:01 of the third period, and 2:59 of the overtime, Tampa Bay did its best to bombard Montreal goalie Carey Price, to no avail. In fact, the Habs even had a chance to end things with a short-handed goal. Ultimately, Josh Anderson gave them a superhuman effort to hammer home the winner – his second goal of the evening.



And so Montreal has another life.



In the Stanley Cup odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/betanysports/">BetAnySports</a>, the Lightning are once again the favorites:



Tampa Bay Lightning -225 Montreal Canadiens +185 Lightning -1.5 Goals +125 Canadiens +1.5 Goals &nbsp;-145 Over 5 Goals -125 Under 5 Goals +105



One shouldn’t be all that surprised that Carey Price returned to form in Game 4, but if you’re a Montreal backer, you’ve got to be a little concerned about some of the defensive lapses that either led to the Tampa Bay goals or to very close calls, including a Nikita Kucherov shot from right in front of Price that hit the post.



You simply can’t have the opposition standing alone in front of your goaltender, and you’re not going to survive if someone from the fourth line, like Pat Maroon, gets past your defense to nail a critical goal.



The Canadiens did a number of things in the way of mistakes that may have sunk them under normal circumstances, and some positive things that they probably can’t replicate, like the first NHL goal for Alexander Romanov, assisted by Jake Evans, who hadn’t played since Game 1.



Head coach Dominique Ducharme switched his forwards around to generate more offensive punch, but by adding Tyler Toffoli (their leading regular season scorer) to a line with Brendan Gallagher and Patrick Danault, he didn’t get results. They were on the ice ten minutes together (at even strength), and were outshot 6-to-1, with a “Corsi For” figure of just 17.6%.



On the other hand, the Bolts had an overall 5v5 Corsi of 59.8%, which indicates a certain level of dominance, and they demonstrated their offensive balance, as the fourth line (Maroon, with Tyler Johnson and Mathieu Joseph) had a 64.7% Corsi and a 66.7% Fenwick (extremely good, as indicated by those advanced stats).



And it was not in any way a coincidence that Tampa Bay led Montreal 34-21 in shots on goal.



This is a roundabout way of us telling you that we couldn’t back Montreal in this game. But since we don’t want to lay that kind of price, we’re looking to lay a goal and a half, in the process grabbing +125 odds at&nbsp;<a href="https://betanysports.eu/BangTheBook/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BetAnySports</a>, which offers you a generous amount of betting options on the Stanley Cup. Don’t forget that you get the same with the NBA Finals, as well as reduced juice and live wagering through Super Lines and Ultimate Lines!

Stanley Cup Odds & Preview — Game 5: Is There an Opening For the Canadiens?

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Andre Pallante is starting for the Cardinals on Wednesday, while the Reds are going with Frankie Montas. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is set for 1:10 PM ET. BSOH is carrying this one on TV.

The Reds are favored at -123 on the money line compared to the Cardinals, who are +103. The over/under line is sitting at 9.5 runs. In the NL Central, the Cardinals are in 3rd place, while the Reds are 5th. <h3>CINCINNATI REDS VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK</h3>The Pick: Cincinnati Reds Moneyline -123This game will be played at Great American Ball Park at 1:10 ET on Wednesday, May 29th.<h3>HOW TO BET THE CARDINALS VS REDS:</h3><ul><li>We have the Reds winning by a score of 5 to 4</li><li>If you're looking for a run line pick, we also like the Reds to cover</li><li>As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the under</li></ul>It was all St. Louis in the last game of this series, as the Cardinals took down the Reds by a score of 7-1. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Reds and struck out five times as many times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +110 on the money line.

This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Kyle Gibson for the Cardinals and Andrew Abbott for the Reds. Gibson only went six innings but gave up just two hits and one earned run. On the other side, Abbott was tagged for two homers and six runs in six innings of work.

St. Louis got on the board right away in the first, scoring two runs off Abbott. After that, they didn't score another run until putting up three in the 7th. As for the Reds, they got their only run in the 6th.<h3>Cardinals Records & Stats</h3>St. Louis is 26-27 overall and 4.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. So far, they have gone just 4-7 in divisional games. The Cardinals will be on the road today, facing the Reds, with an overall series record of 9-8 and having won four straight series.

At home, the Cardinals are 13-12 this year compared to 13-15 on the road. St. Louis has reeled off four straight wins as the favorite, and they are 14-13 overall as the favorite this year. As for their play as the underdog, the Cardinals are 12-14 this year. Looking at how they have been playing recently, the Cardinals are 8-2 over their last 10 games, including taking the first two games of this series vs. the Reds.When betting the run line on the Cardinals this season, it's been more profitable to take them as the underdog, as they are 16-10 against the run line in those games. They are 13-15 against the run line on the road, and overall, they have a run differential of -0.7 runs per game.The St. Louis Cardinals are on the road today against the Cincinnati Reds, with the over/under line set at 9.5 runs. The Cardinals have played to the under in 24 of their 51 games this season, and their games have averaged 8.5 runs per game. The over/under line for their games this season has averaged 8 runs per game. The over/under line has been set at 9.5 runs in just 3 of their games this season, and the under has hit in 92.5% of their games. The under has hit in each of their last 3 games.The Cardinals are sending Andre Pallante to the mound today vs. the Reds, and he has made nine appearances out of the bullpen this year. Pallante's ERA is 6.30, and he has a record of 0-1. Looking back at his last outing, Pallante went three innings vs. the Brewers, giving up two earned runs, five hits, and one homer. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. So far, he has finished with a no-decision in three straight outings. Opponents are batting .286 off Pallante this year.Paul Goldschmidt has been a bright spot for the Cardinals offense of late, as he is batting .360 over his last six games with three homers and six RBIs. Goldschmidt's 7 homers this season is 2nd on the team, and his 22 RBIs is 3rd. Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan are tied for the team lead with four homers apiece, with Arenado batting .257 and Donovan at .235.

As a team, the Cardinals are averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 25th in the MLB. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a team batting average of just .235. However, they do come into the game with the 13th best team BABIP in the league.<h3>Reds Records & Stats</h3>Cincinnati is 24-31 overall and trail the Brewers by 7.5 games in the NL Central. So far, they are 2-3 in divisional matchups. The Reds are looking to pick up a win today and have been playing well as the underdog, having won three straight games as the underdog.

At home, the Reds are 14-16 compared to 10-15 on the road. Cincinnati has an overall series record of 5-11-1 this year. They are also 11-11 when favored and 13-20 as the underdog.When betting the run line with the Reds, it's been more profitable to take them as the underdog. Cincinnati is 19-14 against the run line as the underdog, compared to 10-12 as the favorite. The Reds have been a better run line bet on the road, where they are 16-9 against the run line compared to 13-17 at home. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.8, while it's -3.2 in losing games.With a combined run average of 8.3, the Cincinnati Reds have seen their games go over the total more often than not this season. Their over/under record is 25-28, and their games have averaged 9 runs per game. The over/under line for today's game against the St. Louis Cardinals is set at 9.5 runs, and in games with that line, the Reds are 10-4 to the over. However, the Reds have played just two games this season with a higher over/under line than 9.5 runs, and their games have gone under the total in four straight contests.Through nine starts, Frankie Montas has a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 4.61. He has made two quality starts this season and is coming off an outing in which he gave up four earned runs in six innings of work. In that start vs. the Padres, he gave up three walks and one homer. Montas has not allowed more than one homer in any of his last four outings. Montas has a much better ERA at home, coming in at 2.58 compared to 9.3 on the road. His BB/9 figure is 3.51 compared to 6.15 strikeouts per nine innings.Elly De La Cruz comes into the game with a team-best batting average of .245 and has also been a solid run producer for the Reds, as his 24 RBIs are the 2nd most on the team. He has also gone deep nine times this season, which is the best mark on the team and 9th in the league. Spencer Steer and Will Benson are also among the team's top home run hitters, but both players are looking to improve their batting averages, with Steer hitting .226 and Benson at just .199.

As a team, the Reds are averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They have also struggled in terms of batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Cincinnati does come into the game with a team batting average of .143 over their last six games.

St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds Betting Pick & Prediction 5/29/24

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