Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders Betting Pick
19 June 2021
The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they are making a strong case to repeat again this season. Tampa Bay has now won two straight games in this series after losing Game 1 on home ice.
New York has been a major surprise throughout the playoffs, and they are no stranger to being down 2-1 in a series. The Islanders have thrived in the underdog role all season long, and they have been great at home.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the betting favorites at -139 for Game 4 on Saturday night.
Lighting Getting Great Play From Goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy has been the MVP of this series for the Lightning as he has completely shut down the Islanders. Tampa Bay has been a solid defensive team all season, but their goalie has bailed them out in this round.
Vasilevskiy has given up just five total goals in the first three games, but he will need to be great again. Tampa Bay has not been able to get its offense rolling, but they are facing a tough Rangers team.
Center Brayden Point leads the Lightning with 11 goals in the postseason, and he has been a one-man show. Nikita Kucherov has racked up 23 points, but Tampa Bay has to find some more offense.
New York Needs to Score
Scoring goals has been a challenge for New York all season long, but they have been a much better offensive team in the playoffs. New York wants to slow down the pace, but they are going to have to take some chances in Game 4.
Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson have each scored seven goals to lead the Islanders in the playoffs. New York has struggled to score goals on the power play as well, and that needs to change on Saturday night.
The Islanders held opponents to just 2.23 goals per game during the regular season, and they have done a nice job of slowing down the Lightning. New York wants to play this same style in Game 4 and find a way to pick up a late goal.
Islanders Even Things Up
This series has been extremely competitive, and that trend is going to continue in Game 4 as well. There has not been a ton of offense up to this point, and that style of play works well for the Islanders.
Vasilevskiy has been tremendous in net for Tampa Bay all postseason, but there is a chance for New York to get some pucks through. Look for the Islanders to use the home crowd to their advantage as they find a way to pick up an impressive win at home.
Tampa Bay is still the favorite to win the series, but New York evens things up in Game 4. Bet the Islanders money line over the Lightning on Saturday night.
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