Top NHL Betting Picks for Monday, June 20 (2021)
The Stanley Cup playoffs continue tonight when two Eastern Conference foes square off to break their series tie. The New York Islanders will travel to Tampa Bay in hopes of stealing a game to clinch a finals berth back at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. But first, they’ll need to defeat this more experienced and talented Lightning team.
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Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
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New York Islanders (+162) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-190)
Due to some last-second heroics by Ryan Pulock, the Islanders could escape Game 4 with a 3-2 victory to even the series.
Semyon Varlamov was stellar once again in net, and star centerman Mathew Barzal continued his hot play after scoring his sixth postseason goal in the second period.
Despite a strong third-period start, Tampa Bay could not solve the Islanders and their stout defensive playing style.
Nikita Kucherov continued his torrid offensive play, picking up his league-leading 24th point when he assisted Tyler Johnson’s goal. Don’t be surprised to see him get on the scoresheet yet again tonight.
Below, we’ll analyze the advanced statistics from Game 4:
Number’s courtesy of Natural Stat Trick
- CF%: 45.36 (NYI) 54.64 (TB)
- HDCF%: 46.67% (NYI) 53.33 (TB)
- xGF: 2.06 (NYI) 1.9 (TB)
- xGF%: 52 (NYI) 48 (TB)
The above-advanced statistics tell us that Tampa controlled possession and the high danger scoring chances in the game. The Isles did hold a slight advantage in expected goal metrics, but it was far from a dominant performance.
The Lighting were inches away from tying in the waning moments of Saturday’s game. I believe we will see them regroup and come out strong on home ice in this pivotal Game 5.
Betting Picks: Tampa Bay Lightning in regulation (-109)
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Jordan Anderson is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jordan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Jordan_A03.