The Stanley Cup Finals got off to a great start on Wednesday night, with the Colorado Avalanche taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1. 

Tampa Bay erased a 3-1 deficit in the opening matchup, but Andre Burakovsky scored the overtime winner just 1:23 into the extra game to put the Avs three wins away from glory. There was a lot to like about the Lightning’s pushback, which has become a theme this postseason. The Lightning have lost three-of-four Game 1’s in this postseason run, their series with the Florida Panthers being the only exception.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champs have continuously gotten stronger during each series, which is exactly why the Avs needed to get off to a quick start at home. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed two goals early, but he settled into the contest and should be a difference-maker moving forward in this series. This territory isn’t unfamiliar to the Lightning, especially not during their third straight attempt to hoist Lord Stanley. Getting Brayden Point back into the lineup will undoubtedly benefit the Lightning. At the same time, there are still question marks about whether Nazem Kadri will be able to make an appearance in this series for the Avalanche. 

Even though you can’t count out this dominant Lightning team, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar didn’t exactly have difference-making Game 1’s, but the Avs still came out on top with a win. Darcy Kuemper started Game 1 after missing most of their series against the Edmonton Oilers and delivered the performance the Avs needed.

Through one game of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche own odds of -275 to win the Stanley Cup, while the Lightning hold odds of +225. There’s some value in the Lightning’s number, which likely will rise substantially if the team can pull off a road victory in Game 2. 

In terms of the ticket percentages, the Avalanche still own a higher amount of tickets than the Lightning with 25.8%, while Tampa Bay sits with 13%. 

The money has been somewhat spread out between the two teams, with the Avs having 32% of the handle heading in their direction while the Lightning sit with 20.6%. 

Below you can find the current odds in the Stanley Cup Finals from the BetMGM Sportsbook.