NHL Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders on 18.09

The Islanders are not planning to give up. Are they going to tie this series? Let’s find out.

New York Islanders

The Islanders were more or less able to adapt to their opponents and prevailed in the fifth match of the series with a score of 2-1 in overtime. Of course, Braden Point’s injury had a positive effect for the Islanders, and therefore it was much easier for them to hold back the offence of the Lightning than before.

However, at the same time, Semyon Varlamov again showed himself from his best side and reflected a total of 36 shots. In general, it should be noted that Barry Trotz’s men in the last meeting used almost all the chances that they created in the opponent’s zone, and in total strained the goalkeeper only 24 times. Yes, the team is still having problems creating danger in front of Vasilevsky’s net, and there is no getting around it.

New York Islanders

Tampa Bay seemed to be able also to adapt, and after the loss of Braden Point played well, creating a large number of dangerous chances. Moreover, they even scored a second goal, which was later cancelled. Lightning had a chance to end the series in their favour at the very end of the third period, as they played on the powerplay for four minutes, but they did not use this opportunity.

In addition to Braden Point, the team has scorers, so in the next match, John Cooper’s squad will probably act more aggressively. And the Bolts have the motivation to complete this series as quickly as possible, so as not to give Dallas a full breath and restore.

New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning

In our opinion, Tampa, even without Braden Point, will be able to achieve success in the upcoming match. We think that the Islanders have squeezed the maximum out of themselves in this playoff.