Written by Graeme & Scott on Sunday, June 13th, 2021
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Sunday, June 13th will see the first fresh NHL matchup in forever, as the Tampa Bay Lightning square off against the New York Islanders.
Tampa got here after a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers, and a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The New York Islanders meanwhile were able to overcome the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 and the Boston Bruins 4-2.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are overwhelming favourites at 1.33 odds approximately to win this series and proceed to the Stanley Cup Final.
Here are our thoughts:
Lightning vs Islanders Series Betting Tips:
Scott: A rematch of last year’s playoffs. They played each other in the semi-finals last year with the Lightning winning the series in 6 games.
During the season they didn’t play each other due to the schedule that the league had. With no regular season data to go by we have to look at the playoffs each team has had.
The Isles beat the Penguins in 6 games in round 1 and then the Bruins in 6 games in round 2. The Lightning beat the Panthers in 6 games in round 1 and then the Hurricanes in 5 games in round 2.
Both teams beat quality teams to get here so that wasn’t much help. The Lightning, in my opinion, have the advantage at all positions. Vasilevskiy is amazing, Stamkos, Kucherov and Point are playing great and Hedman leads a deep defense.
The Isles have a great team and I wouldn’t be surprised if they take the series. The additions they added at the past two trade deadlines are paying off. And the home fans are maniacs which can help push a team.
Tough to call a winner for this series. I’ll go with the deeper team who has home ice advantage.
Lightning win in 6/7
That would have to be Lightning -1.5.
Canada: 1.86 Odds at BetOnline..
USA: -115 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 1.86 Odds at BetOnline..
(Odds correct as of 2021/06/13 12:28:32 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Graeme: I certainly think the Tampa Bay Lightning should be favourites – I don’t agree that they should be such heavy favourites.
I just can’t stop looking at that price for the Islanders and thinking how crazy it is. It’s not like the Habs. They overcame two fantastic teams and potential cup contenders. They did it with a game to spare as well.
They’ve had two goalies step up which is always nice to have; they will have no qualms about switching if necessary.
Tampa use power plays to their advantage but the Islanders are the least penalized team. There’s a reason for that; they bloody well suck at the penalty kill.
Advanced metric wise for the playoffs, there’s not too much separating them.
Due to their ability to beat the Bruins and Penguins – in solid fashion – I’m happy to go with Islanders +1.5.
Canada: 2.08 Odds at Sports Interaction (SIA) + free $20 bet.
USA: -115 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 2.00 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(Odds correct as of 2021/06/13 12:28:32 AM EST but are subject to change.)
Series Winner: Islanders
Tricky to call. Both teams have shown signs of tuning themselves quite well during the playoffs, to gain the series wins they took. Over/Under also tricky; both teams have been scoring quite well, but also putting up strong defense. Where’s the balance? I might go with OVER 5.5 on Game 1, because both teams are starting to figure things out in this specific matchup (the most inefficient defense may happen, Game 2 to be tighter play and lower scoring), likely to show up loaded with excess adrenaline, both knowing this situation, go full out, make a few more daring plays, errors, sorts of things that result in more chances of the puck going in nets. Islanders with momentum and a sense of needing to make up for last year.
Islanders may be more likely to win the series because they can score more, from this year’s playoff data, but that impression is just from one angle on things. Islanders also beat Boston, who I consider a greater challenge than Carolina. I heard a post-game sports commentator say how the Islanders are playing peaked at all positions and with depth showing up everywhere. NOTE: if available, Over 4.5 makes strong sense (will have lower odds) for Game 1.