NHL Playoffs Picks: New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning

We will have another bracket for you guys after the Anaheim Ducks (hopefully) take out the Nashville Predators tonight, but I wanted to commit to the Tampa Bay Lightning here in an ABC progression. I’ve got them winning the series. The New York Islanders are hot, but Tampa is the better team with the better goalie.

I look at these teams as having a lot of top-line strength but limited depth. The New York Islanders are led by one central scorer, and so are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Heck, I’ll ...

NHL Picks: New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Picks: New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning It’s always dangerous to bet against potential playoff teams like this. That said, the New York Islanders have been a mess without their goaltender and are not the same team. They’ve been sputtering of late, and they take to the road against one of the top teams in the NHL when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning have been rolling along lately. This elite offense should have fun with the New York Islanders’ lack of defensive depth and goaltending woes. I do not trust Thomas Greiss, or any other ...

Free NHL Picks Contest ($100): Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets

Monday, December 14th John Tortorella, laughing stock of me for squandering the best years of the New York Rangers’ dynasty of regular season dominance, was quite predictably exactly what the Columbus Blue Jackets needed. His focus on defense and system saved his reeling goaltender from falling from the ranks of above average NHL net minders. They’re on fire.

Meanwhile, Tampa has only won 13 of their 28 games despite a great goalie and some of the best offensive talent in the East. They’re dangerous and dynamic, but they’re ...

NHL Picks: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Picks: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning What happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning? Steven Stamkos, the most exciting forward in hockey? Ben Bishop, the goalie that made this amazing offense a viable threat to win games? This amazing offense? There have been injuries, but the Tampa Bay Lightning have really struggled this year and look to be in trouble already.

The New York Rangers are fulfilling expectations. I had them as the top team in the Metropolitan division and they’re cruising ahead of the rest of the pack. The Rangers are on an exciting win streak and ...

NHL Picks: Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres

If not for a monumental collapse, last night’s forum posts would have been up around five units. At the core of that was a game where we predicted the exact pace, flow, and final score. We’re off to a solid start to the NHL season as our NHL picks featured on this page have shown.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a good team. This offense will skate circles around a meager Buffalo Sabres defensive unit. Both teams have their backup goalies in, so this one could get out of hand. The Lightning ...

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Lightning Wild

NHL Picks Contest: Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild

Saturday, November 7th – $100 Prize!

After some solid participation in the first round of our NHL Picks Contest, we still only had three correct answers as a struggling Anaheim Ducks team took out the Nashville Predators. Now, I feature a team I hate because they stole my favorite New Jersey Devils player and a team I like because they stole my favorite New York Rangers player.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are always going to be inconsistent until they find some consistency in the blue line. They have a fun ...

Golden State Warriors Win NBA Finals, Blackhawks Take Stanley Cup

Golden State Warriors, Chicago Blackhawks Win NHL, NBA Championships

Well, we did it. The Golden State Warriors were the more complete team, and LeBron James simply didn’t have enough to carry a mediocre team of misfits to NBA Finals glory as the Cleveland Cavaliers fell short. We also nailed the Chicago Blackhawks series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, successfully predicting exactly six games and banking on the inconsistencies of the weaker team to show through in the end.

We pride ourselves on being able to take emotion out of our picks and that is why we at Z-Code can sustain so much success in the long term. This year, I’m particularly proud of our efforts. The computer had this exactly right and we projected precisely how things would play out.

I am a big LeBron James fan, but with fatigue and injuries we knew the Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn’t have enough against such a vastly superior team. Our bracket looked great ...

Stanley Cup Finals Pick: Blackhawks Lightning Game Six

Stanley Cup Finals Game Six, NHL Picks: Blackhawks Lightning We predicted Blackhawks in six and it’s looking pretty good for us here. The Tampa Bay Lightning are starting to deal with injuries and falling apart. The Chicago Blackhawks have their skate to the jugular of an inexperienced team, they’re on home ice, they’re heating up, and they’re the better team right now.

I’m excited about this one. I didn’t know which Tampa Bay Lightning team would show up here and we had been betting against the Chicago Blackhawks all playoffs with very limited success. It was hard to know which ...

NHL Stanley Cup Predictions: Tampa Bay Lightning Chicago Blackhawks Game Four

Stanley Cup Finals Game Four Predictions: Lightning Blackhawks It’s hard to ignore the value here on the Tampa Bay Lightning as a huge underdog here on the road. While they’ve remained wildly inconsistent throughout this series and I continue to respect the Chicago Blackhawks and their winning pedigree – this team is lovable and very easy to root for.

It’s extremely difficult to bet this series because the Blackhawks have been so good for so long. I expect another close game, so I like the value in the +1.5 and the money line here on the Bolts. If Ben Bishop ...

Stanley Cup Game Two: Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Stanley Cup Final Game Two: Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning

Game One was a thriller and we saw the Chicago Blackhawks’ experience come through in a tight game. Can the Tampa Bay Lightning bounce back on home ice or is this series already slipping away?

I still worry about Ben Bishop’s inconsistency and I think the track record of the Chicago Blackhawks and their top NHL defense will be enough for them to win this series. I think they’re the better team overall and having taken back home ice I don’t think the Lightning can recover. The question ...