The Colorado Avalanche are coming off their first loss since May 25th.

Tonight, they’ll look to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this postseason.

After falling behind 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning responded with a 6-2 win on home ice in Game 3 on Monday night.

That win set the stage for a massive showdown tonight.

The Avalanche have a chance to take a 3-1 series lead and fly back to Colorado with a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup in front of their home fans on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay can win tonight and send the series back to Denver tied 2-2.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022.

Best Bets For Game 4 Of Stanley Cup Final

Entering the Stanley Cup Final, I explained why I thought that we would get a high-scoring series.

Colorado had scored 4+ goals in four straight games and 10 of its 14 games on its road through the Western Conference bracket.  

The Avalanche had also allowed 3+ goals in seven of their previous 12 games.

In order for Colorado to win the series, they would need to score enough goals to overcome their goaltending issues.  

Meanwhile, the Lightning had scored 3+ goals in eight of their 12 wins on their road to the Stanley Cup Final. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy was at his best in some big games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers, but he also struggled at times versus both opponents, including giving up 3+ goals in six of the seven games against Toronto.

So far, the prediction that we’d see a lot of goals in the series has played out on the ice.

Through three games, it’s the highest-scoring Stanley Cup Final since 1982.

The over is 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.

The first period over is 3-0.

Goal in the first 10 minutes is 3-0.

Meanwhile, if you bet the over on the team totals for both clubs in every game, you’ve gone 4-2.

Looking at the updated Game 4 odds at FanDuel this morning, the total is set at 6, and it’s slightly juiced to the over at -118.

The alternate over 6.5 goals is +108 at FanDuel.

Over 1.5 goals in the first period is -140.

The “Yes” option for goal in the first 10 minutes is -134.

Meanwhile, after being held to under three goals in Game 3 for just the third time in the playoffs, the Avalanche to score 3+ goals is -156 at FanDuel.

Tampa Bay to go over 2.5 goals is -158 at FanDuel. 

The Lightning have won eight straight on home ice, and they can’t afford to go down 3-1 heading back to Denver for Game 5.

That desperation combined with the fact that Darcy Kuemper is expected to be back in net for Colorado is enough for me to bet the over on Tampa Bay’s team total.

On the flip side, I counted three highlight-reel saves by Vasilevskiy that kept the Lightning in it early in Game 3, and yet even with a disallowed goal the Avalanche still scored two goals.

I’ll be back on Colorado over 2.5 goals tonight.

I also played the alternate over 5.5 at -140 for the second game in a row after it hit in Game 3.

As for who I am betting on to score those goals, I think the top line for the Avalanche delivers its best game after a relatively disappointing performance in Game 3.

Nathan MacKinnon has 14 shots on goal through three games, but is still looking for his first goal of the series.

I’ll take him to go over 1 point at -110 at FanDuel.

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice in Game 3 and is up to three goals and four points in the series.

Landeskog anytime goal scorer is +198 at FanDuel.

Meanwhile, I’m going to circle back with two props for the Lightning that I’ve been riding with since the Eastern Conference Finals.

Anthony Cirelli 2+ shots on goal is -146 at FanDuel.

Cirelli has recorded 2+ shots on goal in seven of his last nine games dating back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

With Brayden Point likely out again, and Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul both dealing with nagging injuries, Tampa Bay will need Cirelli to step up again tonight centring the second line.

I’ll also play Ondrej Palat to record a point at -146 and to go over 2 shots on goal at +100.

Palat has registered at least one point in 10 of his past 12 games and has 2+ shots in nine of those games, including four in Game 3 against the Avalanche.   

If that seems like a lot of picks to give out in a morning column, I’ll tell you right now I’m not done.

We’ll be back on Twitter Spaces tonight with our best bets for Game 4.

After going a combined 5-2 with our picks in Game 3, I can’t wait to run it back tonight with the TSN EDGE team.