The New York Islanders will be looking to stave off elimination when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday for Game 6. Tampa Bay blew out New York on Monday, 8-0, giving them a 3-2 edge in the series.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for NHL playoff semifinal battle at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tampa Bay is the favorite at – -156. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts New York at +135 as the underdog.
Jan Rutta and Erik Cernak are both listed as questionable for Tampa Bay for Wednesday’s game. Anders Nilsson and Marian Gaborik are both out. The Islanders will be without Johnny Boychuk and Anders Lee.
Vasilevskiy, Lightning Dominate Islanders
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored three goals in each of the first two periods on their way to an 8-0 victory over New York. Steven Stamkos scored two goals and added an assist as did Alex Killorn. Nikita Kucherov added three assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots to record the shutout.
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.44 goals per game and is connecting on 11.4% of their shots, both second in the postseason. They are also second on the power-play at 39.2%. With his three assists, Kucherov now leads all playoff performers with 22 assists and 27 points. Brayden Point had a goal in the last contest and now has 13 overall.
The Lightning are allowing 2.13 goals per game and are fifth in penalty killing at 81.6%. Vasilevskiy continues to shine, going 11-5 with a 2.05 GAA and a .936 save percentage. He now has three shutouts.
Islanders Return Home Looking to Stay Alive
There were not many positives to take from Game 5 for the Islanders. Both Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin were shelled, so now this team has to shake off the bad performance and ensure that their season does not end on Wednesday
New York is averaging 3.00 goals per game and is connecting on 10.3% of their shots, both third during the postseason. They are sixth on the power-play at 22.2%. The Islanders are led by Josh Bailey with 13 points. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the team leader with 10 assists and Brock Nelson leads New York with seven goals.
New York is allowing 2.94 goals per game and the penalty-killing units have been abysmal at 63.4%. It will likely be Varlamov going on Wednesday. He is 6-6 with a 2.74 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Trends:
Tampa Bay:
- 4-1 in their last five games on the road.
- 8-3 in their last 11 games
- 83-38 in their last 121 games as the favorite
New York:
- 5-13 in their last 18 games on Wednesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders Pick
I do not expect New York to get shelled in this contest like they were in the last, but clearly Tampa Bay figured something out. They dominated the Islanders in every aspect of that game, and that does not bode well for a team looking to stay alive. New York has figured out a way to turn things around and become one of the best teams in the NHL. However, their run is about to come to an end.
NHL Picks: Take Tampa Bay at -156.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders Total:
This is likely going to be a close contest into the third period, but Tampa Bay is going to be leading at that point. They may have a two-goal advantage, which is going to require the Islanders to pull their goaltender looking to try to get the equalizers. That is going to give Tampa Bay the opportunity to put in a couple of empty-net goals, making the over the smart pick.
NHL Total Pick: Go over 5.0 at -132.
