Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport
New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Both teams are chasing the playoffs
The New York Islanders are visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
The door is closing for the Islanders
The New York Islanders are tenth in the Eastern Conference with a 31-26-15 record. After losing six consecutive games, the Islanders have won two of the last three games and are coming off a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. The Islanders are 21st in the league, scoring 2.97 goals per game, and are ranked 24th, allowing 3.29 goals per game. Mathew Barzal leads the team with 74 points for the season, followed by Noah Dobson with 66.
The Lightning are in excellent form
The Tampa Bay Lightning are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 40-25-7 record. They have won seven of the last eight games and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins. The Lightning are on top of the league, converting on 28.9% of power play situations. They are ranked fifth in the league, scoring 3.47 goals per game, and 22nd, allowing 3.28 goals per game. Nikita Kucherov is having an impressive season, leading the league with 124 goals and second with 82 assists.
Betting Trends
The Lightning have won 7 of the last 9 games against the Islanders and the last six home games against them. Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in their last eight games and 5-0 SU in the last five games against teams from the Eastern Conference. New York is 2-7 SU in the last nine games overall and 1-4 SU in the last five games.
Prediction and Conclusion
Just like in recent seasons, the Lightning are just good enough to make it to the playoffs. At the same time, the Islanders look like they will probably just fall short of reaching the postseason. They lost six straight games recently, and it is probably too late to save the season. The Islanders have lost the last six games played in Tampa, and with the way the Lightning has played lately, this will be another long night for the team from New York. Nikita Kucherov is simply amazing, and he will lead the Lightning to another win tonight.
