As we move into June, the 2021 NHL playoffs are headed to the second round. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their series opener against the Carolina Hurricanes and look to win another road game and put the Hurricanes in a deep hole. The Colorado Avalanche took down the Vegas Golden Knights in an emphatic 7-1 rout at home in their opener and hope to continue the domination in Game 2.
Let’s take a closer look at both of those games as you plan your NHL betting for the week.
NHL News: Playoff Games (June 1-2)
Tuesday, June 1
Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 2 (7:30 pm ET, NBC Sports)
Lightning lead, 1-0
Tampa Bay netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was almost perfect for the Lightning in the opener, stopping 37 of 38 shots. Barclay Goodrow got the game-winner at 12:39 of the third period, sneaking a shot by Alex Nedeljkovic. Brayden Point scored the other goal for Tampa Bay, as the Lightning absorbed a ton of pressure early from the Hurricanes, with Vasilevskiy stopping all 15 shots that he faced in the first period. The Hurricanes had five chances on the power play in the game but could only manage one goal with the man advantage.
Nedeljkovic had a strong night overall, getting 28 saves on 30 shots, but Goodrow’s goal represented a mistake, as Nedeljkovic went low and left too much space for Goodrow to find. Carolina added a sixth skater in the last minute, but they could not get the equalizer. Jake Bean scored the lone Carolina goal, early in the third period on a power play. In seven games in this year’s playoffs, Carolina has given up the first goal of the game. Carolina is not likely to get Nino Niederreiter (upper-body injury) back in this series, and the hole he leaves in the offense is significant, as he had 20 goals in the regular season and one in the series against Nashville.
Final Prediction:
Hurricanes 2, Lightning 1
Wednesday, June 2
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche
Game 2 (10:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
Avalanche lead, 1-0
The Colorado Avalanche are one of the fastest teams in the NHL, but when Vegas decided to make the game physical, the Avs showed that they can hang in that sort of contest as well. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each had a pair of goals on the night, as the Avs, who got plenty of rest after sweeping their first-round series, just made the Golden Knights look slow. The Avs ran out to a 5-0 lead before the fights started to break out. On the night, the teams combined for 74 penalty minutes, including four misconduct penalties in the third period. The Golden Knights’ Ryan Reaves took a match penalty in the third for trying to injure an opponent. Cale Makar, a blueliner for Colorado, chipped in a goal and three assists, and Mikko Rantanen and Brandon Saad had the other two goals.
William Karlsson had the only Vegas goal. Robin Lehner had 30 saves — but saw 37 shots. The Golden Knights surprised observers by starting Lehner in net after Marc-Andre Fleury played all seven games in Vegas’ first-round win over Minnesota. Philipp Grubauer ended with 24 saves. Given that the teams split their season series, 4-4, the Game 1 rout is not likely a harbinger of things to come. But can Vegas steal a win in Denver?
Final Prediction:
Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 2
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