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 even give the Islanders an edge in their top-line defense, though I think overall the teams are about the same defensively. To me, this, and most series in the NHL Playoffs, will come down to goaltending.
While it’s true that the Islanders have a hot backup goalie right now, he’s still just a backup. He’s pretty mediocre overall, and adjusting to him led to the stretch of average play that backed the Islanders into the postseason. The Tampa Bay Lightning, on the other hand, have a goalie they can rely on to win them games. I think he can shut down the Islanders at home to open this series.
The computer shows some conflicting signals. The line is a little bit sharp, but we’re not as concerned about that here since this is a progression. The value isn’t quite there, but overall it should work out. There is a slightly better chance that the Lightning win this game, and the score predictor agrees. To me, that’s enough to go in on a progression.
Tampa Bay Lightning ABC
P.S. Upgrade to Zcode VIP Club and Unlock All Winning Picks. Instant Access.
