Written by Scott on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020
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Now we move to the next series and this time it’s the Florida Panthers vs the New York Islanders. This series doesn’t have as much star power as the other series but sill still be a good one between two good teams.
As mentioned in yesterday’s article, we are still early in phase 2 and there is still lots of work to be done before we move onto phase 3 and 4. But based on what we saw from both teams so far we have enough to talk about it.
The odds for the Panthers to win the series are 2.05. The odds for the Islanders to win the series is 1.80.
Panthers vs Islanders Series Betting Tips
The Panthers went 35-26-8 for 79 points and finshed in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, 3 points back of the wild card spots. The Islanders went 35-23-10 for 80 points and finished in 9th place in the Eastern Conference only 1 point behind the wild card spots with 2 less games played.
They played each other 3 times during the season and the Islanders won all 3 times.
October 12th (in NY) – Islanders 3 – Panthers 2 in a shootout
November 9th (in NY) – Islanders 2 – Panthers 1
December 12th (in Florida) – Islanders 3 – Panthers 1
There was only one game decided by more than 1 goal and that was thanks to an empty net marker with 3 seconds left in the 3rd meeting between these teams this season. So despite the Isles winning all 3 games? They were all close ones.
The Panthers are the better team offensively. Huberdeau, Hoffman and Barkov are all really good forwards who can put up points. The Isles have Barzal who had another solid year. But they had only 2 players, Nelson and Lee, who score more than 20 goals. The Panthers had 5 players hit that number: Hoffman, Dadonov, Huberdeau, Barkov and Acciari.
On defense the Panthers have a strong group with Yandle, Ekblad and Stralman which is a strong group to have back there. The Isles blueline is led by Pulock, Toews and Leddy who are a decent group but lack the star power the Panthers have. In goal the Panthers have Bobrovsky who showed he can come up big when its needed last year allowing only 8 goals with the Jackets in the 1st round sweep of the Lightning. Varlamov is a decent goalie who has gone 13-13 in his playoff career with the Caps and Avalanche.
One spot that shouldn’t be overlooked is the coaching. The Panthers have Joel Quenneville who has 3 Stanley Cups on his resume, the Isles have Barry Trotz who won his 1st Cup in 2018 with the Capitals. Both coaches are amazing at what they do.
Conclusion: I have gone back and forth on this series. Both teams have a legitimate shot at winning the series. But the Panthers have the better team offensively, the better group of defenders, a goalie who was part of the biggest upset in playoff history and one of the best coaches of all time.
Sure the Islanders won all 3 meetings between the teams this season but all 3 were close. This is another series where the odds helped me make my pick as the Panthers for 2.05 odds is worth the risk and I like their chances to win the series.
Panthers to win the series and I’m guessing they will need 4 games to do it.
You can bet this series currently at:
Canada: Bovada, BetOnline...
Everyone Else: 888 Sports, BetOnline..
