Islanders vs Tampa Bay: The Lightning will make it to the Stanley Cup Finals

In the fifth game of the series, the Tampa Bay hockey team defeated the Islanders, 8-0. Will Barry Trotz's team be able to recover from this setback by winning the sixth game? Our prediction: the Lightning will be stronger again.

Islanders current form

The Islanders proved to be the one team that was able to put up serious resistance to the reigning Stanley Cup winner. Barry Trotz's team made an excellent playoff run, beating Pittsburgh and Boston, before starting the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay. Alas, the Islanders couldn't take their success any further and lost three of the next five games. Even in those defeats, they still put up a good fight against the champion, except for the last game which was a shattering 0-8 setback. The main thing is that the New York club is still in the game, and with their character, they will fight to the end.

Tampa Bay current form

Tampa Bay is the reigning Stanley Cup champion, looking to defend the title they won last fall. Yes, the regular season was not as bright as in recent years, but that does not prevent them from performing well in the playoffs, where their leaders Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are back, showing inspired play. John Cooper's team has already passed Florida and Carolina without too much trouble, and now they are turning the tide against the Islanders, where they lost, but now they are one step away from reaching the finals. Tampa Bay was particularly bright last game, where they defeated the Islanders 8-0.

Experts betting tips

Until the fifth game of the series with Tampa Bay the Islanders hockey players performed poorly, keeping afloat in the battle with the champion, but in the fifth game everything came to a head when the Lightning inflicted a crushing 8-0 defeat on their opponent. After that game, the Islanders' reps all said that we'll see different hockey in the sixth game, which wasn't surprising at all. But whether that will be enough to defeat such a powerful opponent is a big question, given how effectively the Lightning learned to play in the decisive games of the season. As a result, a bet on the victory of Tampa Bay with the odds of about 2.12.

The confrontation between the Islanders and Tampa Bay is very tight and tense, and the only exception was the fifth game of the series, where the Lightning won - 8-0. There is no doubt that in the sixth battle, the Islanders will play much better, so we should not expect any smashing scores. Moreover, the standings are such that the New York team is one step away from exiting the playoffs, and John Cooper's team has one win left to advance to the Stanley Cup finals, so the price for any error is too high to take unnecessary risks. You can bet on a total of fewer than 4.5 pucks at odds close to 2.10.

Tampa Bay hockey players now lead the race for the most prolific players in the playoffs. While we are used to seeing Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman in this category, Alex Killorn is a surprising figure. In 16 games played, the 31-year-old Canadian has already scored 16 points (8 goals + 8 assists), which is already a personal record for his Stanley Cup career. With this in mind, it is worth looking at a bet on the total over 0.5 points of Alex Killorn at odds of about 3.30.