New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview/Player Prop

There are just four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the semifinals are taking place this week. The Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night, and it’s the Islanders that hold a 1-0 lead in this series.

New York has been an underdog throughout the postseason, but they continue to win. The Islanders have already eliminated the Penguins and Bruins so far in the playoffs, but this is their toughest challenge.

Tampa Bay is the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they have been in difficult situations before. The Lightning can turn things around quickly, but they must win this game on Tuesday night. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning are -204 on the money line on Tuesday night.

Islanders Great at Controlling Pace

The Islanders are not an explosive offensive team, but they shut down other teams that fit that mold. New York gave up just one goal in the series opener, and that has been a trend that they have established all season long.

Semyon Varlamov has been great in net for the Islanders, and he is playing well enough to steal this series. Varlamov has stopped 93 percent of shots faced in the postseason, and another dominant game will give his team a big edge.

New York has five different players with at least 10 points in the playoffs, and they continue to get surprising production from the offense. Kyle Palmieri leads the way with seven goals, but Mathew Barzal is considered the top offensive weapon.

Lightning Need to Find Scoring

Tampa Bay is going to need to ramp things up on the offensive end of the ice if they will even up this series. The Lightning are a veteran team, and they know how to push the right buttons to find some success.

Nikita Kucherov has 14 assists and 19 total points in the playoffs, and he could be in line for the Conn Smythe if the Lightning win the cup. Defenseman Victor Hedman has 11 playoff points, and he needs to get things going from the blue line.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid in the series opener, but he needs some help from his offense. Tampa Bay is comfortable playing a slow game, but they have the ability to open things up on offense. 

Lightning Even Things Up

Tampa Bay did not play anything close to their best in Game 1 of the series, but they should be back with a renewed sense of focus in this game. Playing at home should also give the Lightning a boost in this game as they can’t afford to fall into an 0-2 hole.

New York just continues to overcome the odds and win games, but they are going to be facing a desperate team on Tuesday night. The Islanders will battle, but they are going to come up just one goal short in Game 2 of the series. 

Bet the Tampa Bay Lightning -204 over the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.

Player Prop

Alex Killorn (-115) Over 0.5 Points

The Lightning offense was handcuffed in Game 1 by the Isles, but that didn’t stop Killorn from registering another point as he picked up an assist on Tampa Bay’s lone goal.

It’s been that kind of postseason for the 31-year-old winger as he’s recorded a point in 5 straight games and is tied for second on the team in points with 13. That total ties him for the second most in his postseason career behind only the 18 he recorded back in 2014-15

As part of Tampa Bay’s top power play unit, Killorn is often in the shadows of his linemates Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos. But “Killer” is making the most of his ice time as he did during the regular season with 33 points in 56 games.

With the Lightning looking to be more aggressive on the offensive end tonight, we’ll take Killorn (-115) to continue his productive play and go over 0.5 points.

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