The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning play Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs third-round series Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena. Below, we analyze the Islanders-Lightning odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Islanders scratched out a 2-1 victory at Tampa on Sunday, as Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock notched even-strength goals to back Semyon Varlamov, who nearly had the shutout.
Brayden Point scored a power-play goal with an extra attacker, as the Lightning made things interesting in the final minute. However, they wouldn’t find a way to equalize things and head into Game 2 down 1-0 in the series.
Islanders at Lightning: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:49 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Islanders +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | Lightning -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Islanders +1.5 (-165) | Lightning -1.5 (+140)
- Over/Under: 5 (O: -130 | U: +110)
Islanders at Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Semyon Varlamov (19-11-4, 2.04 GAA, .929 SV%, 7 SO) at Andrei Vasilevskiy (31-10-1, 2.21 GAA, .925 SV%, 5 SO). Stats from regular season.
Varlamov allowed just the late power-play goal with an extra attacker, stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in the series opener. He has allowed three or fewer goals in five of his last six starts.
Vasilevskiy wasn’t terrible in Game 1, allowing two goals on 31 shots, but the offense couldn’t bail him out. He has allowed three or fewer goals in eight of his previous nine outings.
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Islanders at Lightning: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Lightning 3, Islanders 2
Money line (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-200) will cost you two times your potential return, and that’s over my personal money line of -180. However, it’s not terribly out of line, as I fully expect Tampa Bay to bounce back and take care of business on home ice, squaring the series before shifting to the Island.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The ISLANDERS +1.5 (-165) aren’t terribly expensive for a puck line underdog, and this one should be close just like Game 1. New York has won four straight as an underdog, and three of their four losses in the postseason have been by just one goal.
Over/Under (O/U)
The Total 5 (O: -130 | U: +110) is not a good play, as I expect this game to land right on the number. However, playing the alternate line of UNDER 5.5 (-160) is the way to go here – just play it lightly.
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