Eastern Conference Finals: Islanders Looking to Get Even with Lightning in Game 2
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is set to take place on Wednesday. With the Tampa Bay Lightning holding a 1-0 lead, the New York Islanders are already being forced to climb out of a hole.
However, we've seen the Islanders be resilient before, and it’s that resiliency that has led them this far in the postseason. As Game 2 gets set to take place in Toronto, the Islanders will certainly need all hands on deck.
One of the things that plagued the Islanders was penalty minutes. They had 22 in total, in comparison to Tampa Bay’s 12. With how dangerous the Tampa Bay power play is, New York will have to be mindful of that on Wednesday.
Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov both had tremendous series openers in this one. On Monday, they were named the first and second stars of the game. Point had two goals and three assists while Kucherov had one goal and four assists. They were both the sniper and playmaker, respectively. Tampa Bay needs to make sure that they continue to get them the puck as often as possible.
How should you spend your money when betting on this game? What trends should you look for? We have you covered.
All odds are as of Tuesday night based on the SPREADS.CA betting lines.
It was all Tampa Bay all the time in Game One. Totaling 34 shots on goal in total, the scoring got started early for the Lightning. Brayden Point scored the first goal of the game only 1:14 into the first period. The Islanders managed to tie things up a little over three minutes later, as Jordan Eberle made the most of his chance on the power play. Scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs, he would certainly make his presence felt in what was an otherwise dismal night for the Islanders.
The Lightning made sure that the Islanders goodwill was short-lived. Victor Hedman scored on the powerplay at the 8:12 mark, and Ryan McDonough pocketed the third goal of the first frame at 10:46. After one period, it was becoming clear that the Islanders were over-matched.
Goals by Yanni Gourde and Brayden Point stole the show in the second period. With the goals scored a little over nine minutes apart, the Point goal was also a power play tally. If anything, the Islanders learned that putting the lightning on the power-play is dangerous.
In the third period, Kucherov scored his fifth the goal of the postseason at the 5:51 mark. With assists going to Point and Shattenkirk that line did damage on this night. The Islanders would get one more tally at the 8:46 mark in the third., Courtesy of Nick Leddy. His third goal of the postseason came off assists from Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle.
Nevertheless, it was simply not enough to stop a Lightning team that was firing on all cylinders. Ondrej Palat and Gourde would score two more goals at 9:31 and 13:15 respectively. This made it an 8-2 game and it was a tough pill for the Islanders to swallow.
8 to 2.
Ouch!
With the offensive explosion that Tampa Bay had in Game 1, I feel very comfortable taking the money line on them in Game 2. They have depth and scorers at every turn, and the skills each player has is remarkable. The Islanders are good in their own right, but Tampa Bay has too much firepower.
RECOMMENDATION: Take the money line for the Lightning at 2.10 in this one.
-- written by Danny the Geek
__________
