This Sunday, June 13 kicks off the first game of the Stanley Cup Semifinals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders. The Lightning are the favorites, but could there be an upset brewing?
Here is The Game Day’s Lightning vs Islanders prediction and bets for the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in our Tampa Bay-New York Eastern Conference Finals series preview.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders Prediction: 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Semifinal Bet Picks Preview
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders Matchup
The Islanders carry a balanced offensive and defensive attack that can be overlooked going against an excellent Tampa Bay offense. However, New York has to find a way to beat the defending champions. Tampa Bay is the team. The Lightning has firepower that the Islanders ultimately will have too tough of a time matching.
Currently, BetMGM has the Lightning as a -250 favorite to win the series against the Islanders.
BetMGM offers a Risk-Free Bet for up to $600 for new players. by reading our hands-on review.
Tampa Bay Lightning Round 2 Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to survive a nasty six-game clash against the Florida Panthers in Round 1. Tampa Bay expected an even tougher second-round battle versus the Carolina Hurricanes. That is just what happened.
Tampa Bay was led by another amazing performance from Andrei Vasilevskiy. The goaltender was brilliant in net and punctuated the five-game series win with a shutout (29 saves) in Game 5. In the first two road games, the Tampa Bay goaltender stopped all but two shots as Tampa built an impenetrable series lead.
The Lightning got offense from several key contributors. As usual, Nikita Kucherov was the main force with two goals and seven points in the five-game series (six in the final three). Center Brayden Point also tallied four goals and six points in Round 2. Steven Stamkos chipped in with two goals and five points in the series. It was the balanced effort including defensive contributions from Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev among others that helped Tampa advance.
New York Islanders Round 2 Recap
The New York Islanders hit a bit of a crossroads when Boston won Game 3 in overtime in their home building. New York rarely lost these types of games all season. Their resolve spearheaded the Islanders to three straight wins and another date with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
New York had timely offense from many places, but Mathew Barzal played an integral role. Barzal scored three times and had six points in the six-game conquest of Boston. Kyle Palmieri scored four times and also had six points. Brock Nelson impacted the final two games as he put three pucks past Tuukka Rask when it counted most. The defense was led by Andy Greene, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and others who contained the Boston Bruins just enough.
The Islanders were backstopped in net for the final five games of the series by Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov allowed 12 goals on 181 shots and won four times in the series.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders Prediction & Bet Pick
This series will go at least six games, but a series the Lightning win because they have been even more battle-tested after clashes against Florida and Carolina. Tampa is just a notch better than New York and will advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Lightning vs Islanders Series Prediction
Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games
Lightning vs Islanders Bet Pick
Tampa Bay Lightning to win series (-250) at BetMGM
BetMGM offers a Risk-Free Bet for up to $600 for new players. and place 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff bets today.
Read our Vegas Golden Knights vs Montreal Canadiens prediction for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs semifinals.
Lightning vs. Islanders Schedule
Game 1: Sunday, June 13, 3:00 p.m. ET (NBC, SN, CBC)
Game 2: Tuesday, June 15, 8:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, CBC)
Game 3: Thursday, June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, CBC)
Game 4: Saturday, June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET (USA, SN, CBC)
*Game 5: Monday, June 21, 8;00 p.m. ET (USA, SN, CBC)
*Game 6: Wednesday, June 23, 8:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, CBC)
*Game 7: Friday, June 25, 8:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, CBC)
* if necessary
