Eastern Conference Finals: Getting Ready for Game 1
The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to face each other on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Islanders took care of the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games, while the Tampa Bay Lightning have managed to get a little extra rest. The Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins in five games, with a 3-2 victory closing out the series back on August 31. Now, they come into this well-rested as they look to take on a gritty Islanders team.
Who should you take on Monday night? Well, we have you covered for what should be a spectacular game. All odds are as of Sunday night courtesy of SPREADS.CA
Both teams have a tremendous amount of scoring power and stars. Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson are two players to watch for the Islanders. Nikita Kucherov has carried the pace of play for Tampa Bay. He will definitely be a player to watch. In their last timeout, New York made their presence known against Philadelphia early and often. Scott Mayfield scored a goal at the 9:27 mark in the first period. The Islanders kept attacking, as they would score almost three minutes later. Andy Greene would pocket a goal at the 13:12 mark to make it a 2-0 game in favor of the Islanders. Philadelphia was not able to get anything by Thomas Greiss on this night, as he stopped all 16 shots he faced. He made life difficult for Philadelphia, and they just could not get things going.
In the second frame, the Islanders continued to pour it on offensively. Brock Nelson would score at the 11:26 mark in the second period to make it a 3-0 game in favor of New York. To top it off, Anthony Beauvillier would score at the 13:42 mark in the third period and that would be all she wrote for the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the meantime, the Tampa Bay Lightning took care of the Boston Bruins rather easily. Tampa Bay’s speed was too much for Boston’s physical play, and that came back to haunt the Bruins. Tampa Bay got the scoring going early and often Ondrej Palat scored the first goal the game at the 8: 59 mark of the first period. Tampa Bay would continue to control the play throughout the course of the game, and they set the tone early with that goal.
In the second period, it was more of the same for Tampa Bay. Palat scored at the 12:29 mark with assists going to Anthony Cirelli, and Nikita Kucherov. Victor Hedman would get another goal for Tampa Bay at the 18:04 mark of the second, and that would be too much for Boston to overcome. To Boston’s credit, Jake DeBrusk scored a goal of his own in the third. However it was not enough for Boston as they went out with a whimper against Tampa Bay.
Monday's Pick:
As far as Monday’s game goes, I'm taking the money line for Tampa Bay at 1.62. They have speed, scoring, and postseason experience. That should help them have the slight edge against the Islanders.
-- written by Danny the Geek
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