Stanley Cup Final 2015: Blackhawks vs. Lightning Odds, Prop Bets, Betting Tips

When the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, it will in many ways represent a pretty major contrast in experience. The Blackhawks have been here and done this. The Lightning are younger and a bit more green. 

Nonetheless, it should be a hugely entertaining series between two very fun teams to watch. Let's break down this series from a betting perspective and offer a prediction on how things will play out.

The Odds

For the series, Oddshark.com has the Blackhawks as the 2-3 favorites to win the Stanley Cup, with the Lightning as 13-10 underdogs. Here are the odds breakdown for every potential outcome of the series.

Potential Result		Odds
Chicago Blackhawks win series, 4-0		17-2
Chicago Blackhawks win series, 4-1		4-1
Chicago Blackhawks win series, 4-2		7-2
Chicago Blackhawks win series, 4-3		14-4
Tampa Bay Lightning win series, 4-0		14-1
Tampa Bay Lightning win series, 4-1		13-2
Tampa Bay Lightning win series, 4-2		6-1
Tampa Bay Lightning win series, 4-3		9-2

For Game 1, Oddshark.com has the Lightning (-1.5) as the favorites, however. 

Prediction

Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images

Be wary of betting against the Blackhawks. Quite simply, this is a battle-tested team with plenty of veterans who have a lot of experience at this level of the postseason. Experience isn't the only factor in a Stanley Cup Final, of course, but it goes a long way. 

Former NHL coach Claude Noel told Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com that the Blackhawks would likely have been eliminated against the Anaheim Ducks after losing Game 5 in overtime if it wasn't for that level of experience.

"Remember that overtime loss by the Blackhawks [in Game 5]; how devastating a loss that might have been to any other team," Noel noted. "You thought 'How could they move forward?' But look what happened. When you talk about playoff experience and drawing on experiences and winning Stanley Cup titles, Chicago has it."

He added:

"

You have to look back at the series and remember the questions that were asked. Could Chicago withstand the weight of Anaheim? When [Michal] Rozsival went down, could the forwards take the weight of all the minutes? It never really played a factor and you have to give all the credit to Chicago. They faced some adversity and just plowed through it. It was almost as if they welcomed the challenge, welcomed the adversity.

When they went down 3-2 in the series, it was boom, let's go.

"

This is a team with stars like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith who always seem to save their best for the clutch moments. Corey Crawford has rebounded after a tough start to the postseason. And perhaps most importantly, they aren't about to take the Lightning, well, lightly.

"The thing that stands out to me is their team speed and their skill level up front," Keith told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. "I remember playing them toward the end of the season, and they beat us pretty good. As a team we've got a lot of respect for them. They're there for a reason."

The Lightning are an explosive team, there's no questioning that. The ever-dangerous Steven Stamkos leads the attack, while the second line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat has been as good as any line in hockey this postseason. The Lightning are fast and skilled and got past a very good, very balanced and very deep New York Rangers team to reach this point. 

They aren't laying down without a fight.

But it's really difficult to imagine the Blackhawks losing this series. They can match the Lightning's skill and speed, they have more experience at this stage of the playoffs and they survived a tough Ducks team that had a pretty rare combination of speed and size. 

The Blackhawks have the look of a champion. They survived a lot of injuries this regular season and hit their stride right as the postseason began. They don't have many discernible weaknesses. This is their year.

Again. 

Expect the Blackhawks to win this series in six.