Tampa Bay Lightning (44-18-5) vs New York Islanders (40-20-8)
Game Info: Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 3:00 pm (Amalie Arena)
Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -175 / New York Islanders +155 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The New York Islanders will head on the road to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in game one of their series in the NHL Stanley Cup semifinals. This will be a rematch of their 2020 Eastern Conference final, which the Lightning won in 6 games.
The Islanders are fresh off a three-game winning streak to finish their series against Boston. They outscored the Bruins 15-7 in those last three games and have now won 7 of their last ten in the postseason. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has led the team with 10 assists and 13 points in the postseason, while Kyle Palmieri led with 7 goals. New York has split time between their two goalies, with Semyon Varlamov starting 7 games and Ilya Sorokin starting the other 5. Overall they have allowed 2.75 goals per game with a .929 save percentage. The Islanders rank 4th among playoff teams with 3.17 goals per game but have allowed a league worst 43.8 shot attempts per game.
Tampa Bay continued their hot play in the postseason, winning 4 of 5 games against the Hurricanes en route to their second straight conference final. The Lightning allowed just 8 goals in the series, shutting down a potent Carolina attack. Nikita Kucherov has stepped up in the playoffs, leading the team with 13 assists and 18 points thus far. Braydon Point led the team in goals during the regular season and has continued that with 8 postseason goals. Andre Vasilevskiy has been solid in net, the only goalie for Tampa Bay in the playoffs He has allowed just 2.24 goals per game with a .934 save percentage. The Lightning rank first among playoff teams with 4.6 goals per game at home, while converting on a league best 50% of power play opportunities.
New York is 15-15-4 on the road this season, 39-29 ATS, and the under is 36-28.
Tampa Bay is 24-7-2 at home this season, 31-36 ATS, and the under is 33-31.
This will be their first matchup since last years conference finals, as the two did not play in the regular season. Both teams have been playing great hockey and the Islanders will certainly be out for revenge after falling short in 2020. However last season the Lightning were without Steven Stamkos and still managed to end the series in 6 games. He has contributed at a high level in these playoffs, ranking second on the team with 13 points and should be a difference-maker in an especially important game one. This game could go either way but I will give the edge to the home team here.