New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview/Player Prop
13 June 2021
New York was the number four seed in the East but pulled off a pair of stunning upsets to get to this point. The Islanders knocked off the Penguins in Round 1 before dispatching the Boston Bruins in the Second Round.
Tampa Bay is the defending Stanley Cup champion, and this team knows how to win in the postseason. The Lightning knocked off the Florida Panthers in the First Round and then got past the Carolina Panthers to advance to the semifinals.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are -197 over the New York Islanders in Game 1 of this series.
New York Finding Some Offense
The Islanders were not a great offensive team during the regular season, but things have changed in the playoffs. New York scored 15 total goals in the last three games in the Boston series, and they will have to score to win this series.
Kyle Palmieri leads the Islanders with seven goals this postseason, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau has ten assists. There aren’t many big names on this roster, but the Islanders play a very beautiful style on offense.
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov will play a key role in this series as well. The Islanders want to keep this to a low-scoring affair, and goaltending will need to be great.
Lightning Solid on Both Ends
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been solid on both ends of the ice, and this team knows how to win in a variety of ways. Tampa Bay will likely try to use its depth to overwhelm the Islanders in this series, and few teams can keep up with the Lightning.
Nikita Kuchero leads the Lightning with 13 assists and 18 total points so far in these playoffs. Brayden Point has scored a team-high eight goals, and he seems to find a way to come up with a clutch goal when needed.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is the biggest key for the Lightning, and he has the ability to take over this series. The Lightning have a strong defense in front of their goalie, and they don’t give opponents many scoring opportunities.
Islanders Pull Off Another Upset
The New York Islanders have been on a remarkable run, and this team is definitely playing with a ton of momentum. New York is the clear underdog in this series, but it’s a role that they have enjoyed.
Tampa Bay just doesn’t make many mistakes on the ice, but the Islanders have a way of making opponents uncomfortable. The Lightning are going to get a big boost from their home crowd, but it still won’t be enough to win this game.
It’s just too hard to bet against the Islanders at this time based on how they are playing. Take the New York Islanders money line as they open the series by stunning the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Player Prop
To Score A Goal: Nikita Kucherov (+145)
After missing the entire 2020-21 regular season following hip surgery, Kucherov has shown little rust as he’s rejoined the Lightning for the postseason.
The 27-year-old Russian leads the league in points (18) and assists (13) in 11 playoff games. He’s also found the back of the net 5 times while leading Tampa Bay in shots with 32. His shooting percentage of 15.6% is his highest postseason rate since scoring on 21.6% of his shots during the 2015-16 postseason.
Kucherov jumped on the Panthers early in Game 1 of their first round series with a pair of goals during the Lightning’s 5-4 win. We’ll take the Tampa Bay winger (+145) to be similarly aggressive tthis afternoon and pick up a goal in Game 1 versus the Isles.
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