Tampa Bay Lightning will host New York Islanders in Monday’s evening NHL action. The home side hasn’t been too consistent lately, and they want to stabilize their form. The visitors haven’t played well recently, and they look forward to breaking their losing streak.
Tampa Bay is in a series of home games, and they want to get the most out of it. It is going to be their third straight match on the home ice, and the hosts want to book their second victory. On the other hand, New York will play its 11th game on the road in this long series. The away side doesn’t want to suffer another defeat in a row, and they want to bounce back with a win.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Will they stay in the playoffs zone?
The Lightning has had a tough series of matches despite playing in front of the home fans. They lost to the Hurricanes after overtime but bounced back with a victory over the Panthers in the same manner. Andrei Vasilevskiy had a good performance on the goal, as he saved 26 of the opponent’s 28 attempts. The defending champions improved to a 7-3-3 record thanks to that victory, and they want to continue the race for the post-season spot. Tampa Bay is now fourth in the Atlantic Division but has one or two games in hand compared to their rivals.
Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning offensive department with 15 points, including a team-high seven goals. Victor Hedman has been the leading assistant with nine final passes, while he also contributed with 11 points. Alex Killorn scored seven goals and assisted on six occasions, while Anthony Cirelli has the best plus/minus score. On the other hand, Andrei Vasilevskiy spent the majority of the time between the pipes, having a .921 save percentage. However, Tampa Bay could have been better in defense, as they have allowed 2.92 goals per match on average.
Expected Line-Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jan Rutta, Victor Hedman, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point
with best odds
New York Islanders – Can they improve the form?
The previous two outings were unsuccessful for the Islanders, as they lost to the Wild and the Devils. They head to another tough trip, as New York will meet the defending champions. The Islanders conceded nine goals in those two games while scoring only two. New York is on the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with a 5-4-2 record, but they still have a chance to challenge for the playoffs spot. The visitors have played fewer matches than their rivals, and all of them were on the road. Despite having 42 shots against the Devils, New York failed to score in that clash. They should improve their finishing to increase their chances of securing a positive result here.
The Islanders have been struggling in the offense, and no player scored a double-digit number of points. Brock Nelson netted a team-high seven goals for a total of nine points. Anthony Beauvillier and Mathew Barzal have contributed with seven points each, while Josh Bailey has logged the most assists – five. Ilya Sorokin made ten appearances on the goal and has an excellent .933 save percentage. The Islanders have allowed only 2.18 goals per match with him between the pipes, and they have been pretty good in the back this season.
Expected Line-Up: Ilya Sorokin, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee
Expert Pick #1 – Tampa Bay Lightning to win (Inc. OT and Pen.) @-140
Tampa Bay faced two tough opponents, and although this will be another challenging match, they are favorites. They are in a better momentum than their rivals, and I believe the hosts will meet the expectations. Therefore, I’m going to back the Lightning as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Under 5.5 @-140
The Under has been pretty common in Tampa Bay’s recent matches, and it cashed five times in a row. On the other hand, New York has been quite disciplined in the back, while they have struggled in the final third. That’s why I’m going to stick to the Under as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Lightning to win & Under 6.5 @+140
The moneylines and totals markets combined can provide more generous odds, and I’m going to dip into this. I expect the Lightning to celebrate, and if the game stays under a 6.5 margin, we can count on decent profits. Therefore, I’ll take this as my third pick
