Islanders vs. Lightning Game 1 Prediction
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Islanders and Lightning takes place in Tampa on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET. With the Lightning listed as huge moneyline favorite and the total sitting at 5.5, what’s the best play?
Game Snapshot
081 New York Islanders (+168) at 082 Tampa Bay Lightning (-188); o/u 5.5
3:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 13, 2021
Venue: Amalie Arena
New York Islanders DFS Spin
One big difference between this Islanders-Lightning series and last year’s edition will be the presence of fans. When the Islanders and Lightning play each other in the 2020 Eastern Conference Final, they were in a bubble and no fans were allowed in attendance. This time around, the atmosphere will be far different. “I think as we started having fans, the value of that, experiencing that, which we did miss out [on],” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Tampa won a Cup with no fans. I mean, that could be their motivation. I know fans give us the energy to say, ‘Hey, this is fun. Let’s keep going and see how far we can take this.’” The Islanders-Lightning semifinals series will begin at 3:00pm ET on Sunday.
Tampa Bay Lightning DFS Spin
Andrei Vasilevskiy has picked up a shutout in his last three games that involved close-out games in the playoffs. Vasilevskiy shut out the Hurricanes 2-0 Tuesday as the Lightning clinched their Central Division series 4-1. Last series Vasilevskiy shut out Florida 4-0 in the Game 6 clincher and he picked up a 22-save shutout last season as Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in six games over Dallas in the clincher.
Islanders vs. Lightning Game 1 NHL Prediction
The under is 3-1-2 in the last six meetings between the two teams in Tampa Bay and is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings overall. The under is also 5-2-1 in the Islanders’ last eight games after scoring five goals or more in their previous game and is 4-0 in the Lightning’s last four games after allowing two goals or less in their previous game. The under is also 6-1 in the Lightning’s last seven games overall and is 5-0 in their last five games following a win.
NHL PREDICTION: ISLANDERS/LIGHTNING UNDER 5.5