New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game Day Preview

An NHL Game Day Preview between the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning

When: 3:00 PM EST, June 13, 2021

Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Puckline: Islanders +1.5 | Lightning-1.5

Moneyline: Tampa -200

OVER/UNDER Game Total: 5.5

New York Islanders Vs Tampa Bay Lightning Game Day Preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning will host the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the NHL Conference Finals.

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are returning to the Conference Finals for the second consecutive year where they will face the same opponent: the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Isles did not win this series last year, but have made some key adjustments as they look to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1984.

Matthew Barzal has been New York’s most dominant force this postseason with nine points in 12 games. He has also had help from his line-mate Jordan Eberle, who was scored eight points.

As expected, Semyon Varlamov will be in net for the Islanders. Varlamov is 4-3 with a .925 SV% and 2.62 GAA thus far in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have now qualified for the Conference Finals or further in five of the past seven seasons. The defending champions are looking to return to the final by defeating the same team they did last year.

The Lightning certainly are going to rely on their star forward who missed the regular season. Former MVP Nikita Kucherov has been on a rampage this postseason with 18 points in 11 games. The Lightning have also heavily relied on Brayden Point who has scored 12 points in 11 games. The Bolts will also need help from their starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasilevskiy has a .934 SV% and 2.24 GAA with two shutouts thus far in the playoffs.