The Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning will kick off the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern from Amalie Arena.

We finished the regular season at 22-15 in NHL picks and look to keep rolling through these playoffs.

Odds provided by FanDuel; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY Sports.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning: By the Numbers

• The Lightning swept the season series 3-0, outscoring the Blue Jackets by a cumulative 17-3.

No Presidents' Trophy winner since 2013 has gone on to win the Stanley Cup, and only two teams have done it in the entire salary cap era.

• Tampa Bay led the league with a +103 goal differential in the regular season, while Columbus' +26 differential ranks T10 of 16 playoff teams.
• The Lightning ranked ninth in the league in 5v5 Corsi For Percentage (ratio of all attempted shots at full strength) with the Blue Jackets finishing the year at No. 12, according to Corsica.Hockey.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning: Projected Goalie Starters

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy

Bobrovsky comes into his third consecutive postseason as the winner of two of the past six Vezina Trophies. He led the league in shutouts for the first time in his career in 2018-19, but he dipped below his career save percentage and well above his goals against average. His 61 starts were a three-year low, potentially giving him some extra life in the playoffs.

Vasilevskiy, the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy front-runner, finished third in voting last year and led the league in goalie wins for the second consecutive season this year. His 53 starts were 11 fewer than he made last year, and he set career full-season bests in both save percentage and GAA.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning: Key Injuries

Blue Jackets Ds Adam McQuaid and Ryan Murray missed the conclusion of the regular season and remain without any sign of progress heading into Wednesday night.

The Lightning will also be shorthanded on defense, as Anton Stralman still hasn't practiced in his attempted recovery from an undisclosed injury.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning: NHL Best Bet

Moneyline: The Lightning, listed at +195 to win the Stanley Cup, are a -220 favorite in the first game of the playoffs. The team's unlikely to ever be an underdog regardless of how much they trail in any series and can't be picked against until that point. Back it as a huge favorite.

Against the spread: Bobrovsky allowed the first 13 Lightning goals in the season series before giving way to Joonas Korpisalo for Game 3. He's certain to draw back in, and despite his typical prowess, the Lightning can be picked at +120 to cover -1.5 goals in the series opener as they have his number.

Over/under: The 6.5 total is the highest of any of the eight Game 1s. The UNDER is the smart - and safe - play at -115.

Follow Esten on Twitter @EstenMcLaren

MORE:

Packers' puzzling goal-line decisions end in disaster

Burmese python discovered in surprising place

Rangers ripped for not catching easy foul ball so pitcher could reach milestone

Gardner Minshew finally got to meet 'Uncle Rico' and NFL fans loved it

See Felix Hernandez's emotional walk off the mound for the Mariners