New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning - 6/21/21 NHL Picks and Prediction

The Tampa Bay Lightning will host the New York Islanders in game 5 of their NHL Semifinals series. The series is tied 2-2 heading into this one.

New York won the last game 3-2 to even things up in the series. They scored 3 goals in the second period, proving to be the difference in the game. Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal both scored, each notching their 6th of the playoffs. Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck each had 2 assists in the game. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Josh Bailey lead the team with 13 points in the postseason. Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 of 30 shots in the game. So far this postseason he is allowing 2.53 goals per game with a .923 save percentage. Over their last 5 games, the Islanders are averaging 2.8 goals per game and allowing 2.2 to their opponents. On the road the Islanders are 5-3. They have allowed 40.9 shots per game while averaging 30.5 in those games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a rough second period which ultimately cost them the game. They scored 2 goals early in the third but could not convert over the last 14 minutes to force overtime. Brayden Point scored his NHL-leading 12th goal of the playoffs in the game. Nikita Kucherov has an assist in the game, he leads the team with 19 assists and 24 points in the playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in their last game, allowing 3 goals on 30 shots. He has started all 15 postseason games for the Lightning, allowing 2.19 goals per game with a .933 save percentage. Over their last 5 games, the Lightning have averaged 2.2 goals per game while giving up 1.6 to their opponents. Tampa Bay is 4-3 at home this postseason, averaging 4.0 goals per game and converting on 44% of their power plays.

AUTHOR: Joe Bonomo

Call center analyst by day, sports analyst by night. Joe knows how to break down the numbers to give you the best picks.