The Florida Panthers look to even up their qualification round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the New York Islanders Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Puck drop is set for noon ET. We analyze the Panthers-Islanders NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Panthers vs. Islanders: Projected starting goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Semyon Varlamov
Bobrovsky and his seven-year, $70-million contract will remain between the pipes Tuesday following a strong effort in Game 1. The former Vezina Trophy winner struggled through the regular season, but he stopped 26 of 28 shots faced in Saturday’s one-goal loss.
Varlamov stopped 27 of 28 shots Saturday. He has now stopped 238 of the last 259 shots he has faced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, dating back to 2013-14 with the Colorado Avalanche.
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Panthers vs. Islanders: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 7:20 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Panthers 3, Islanders 1
Moneyline (ML)
The PANTHERS (+100) are a good value play at even-money following Saturday’s narrow loss. The Islanders (-118) won the shot-attempt battle 58-51 in Game 1, but expect a better performance from the Panthers’ forward group following the strong outing by Bobrovsky.
The Panthers outscored the Islanders by 39 goals with just one more game played in the regular season. Reestablished trust in their highly-paid goaltender should allow for a stronger focus on the other side of the red line.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Panthers to win in regulation or overtime would return a profit of $10.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
PASS on the puck line. There’s no value in the Panthers’ line of +1 (-200). We’re expecting them to win outright and a push on a loss by a single goal isn’t worth our time.
Over/Under (O/U)
The value is with the UNDER 5 (+110). Game 1’s 2-1 victory for the Islanders showed us this will be a tight-scoring, goaltenders’ battle. While I’m expecting the Panthers to get a couple goals past Varlamov Tuesday, they won’t be lighting up the scoresheet.
Look for Bobrovsky’s play to improve with renewed confidence following his poor first regular season in Florida.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 5-6
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