The NHL playoffs are wending their way through their first round of games. The first two rounds take place within the divisions, where the teams have also spent their entire 56-game regular season. The North Division has yet to get their series underway, but the U.S.-based divisions have all had at least one game played in each series. Perhaps the biggest surprise from the series openers came from Las Vegas, where the Minnesota Wild got a 1-0 overtime win, thanks to Joel Eriksson Ek bouncing a shot off a Vegas defenseman in extra time to get the win.
Let’s take a look at each of the three Tuesday night games, along with our NHL betting suggestions.
NHL News: Playoff Games (May 18)
New York Islanders (+110) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-135)
Game 2 (7:30 pm ET)
Islanders lead, 1-0
Can the Islanders’ defense really smother Pittsburgh in two straight games? New York now has won five straight playoff games against the Penguins, including a sweep two seasons ago. There will be more fans at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night, as a change in Pennsylvania state law has increased arena capacity. In Game 1, Pittsburgh had more glorious chances at even strength, but the Penguins did not get much help at all from their goaltending. Tristan Jarry gave up two soft goals on the glove side, and then the overtime winner for the Isles came at a tough angle, going over Jarry’s shoulder, but other goalies have stopped those shots.
Evgeni Malkin missed the opener and might miss Game 2 as well. Sidney Crosby is a lot easier to bottle up without his partner in crime. An interesting prop for this game is the question as to whether the first team to score will win. If the Isles score first and then the Penguins mount a furious rally to win, you could pick up some value on that. If New York leads 1-0 or is tied after the first period, think about taking them at that point in the game as well, because they will have another period to have crept into the Penguins’ collective minds.
Final Prediction:
New York 3, Pittsburgh 2
Tampa Bay Lightning (-130) at Florida Panthers (+110)
Game 2 (8:00 pm ET)
Lightning lead, 1-0
The series opener was a barnburner, with the Lightning picking up a 5-4 road win. The good news is that Florida was able to keep up with Tampa Bay at even strength; in five-on-five time, the Panthers had a 3-1 advantage. The problem was that Tampa Bay had three power-play goals and a shorthanded goal to go with it. Nikita Kucherov returned for the Lightning, after sitting on injured reserve for the whole regular season. Did he have rust? No — instead, he had a pair of goals and an assist, all coming on the power play.
In goal, Florida started Sergei Bobrovsky, which raised eyebrows given his -8.1 goals saved above expectation metric from the regular season. Chris Driedger, who posted a +7.03 number, will start in Game 2. It’s not like Bobrovsky was dreadful, but he didn’t make any saves that rescued his team. Florida should come out on Tuesday night ready for a must-win game.
Final Prediction:
Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2
Minnesota Wild (+140) at Vegas Golden Knights (-160)
Game 2 (10:00 pm ET)
Wild lead, 1-0
Did you know that Vegas has never trailed a postseason series by a 2-0 margin? Of course, they have only been around for three years, but that’s still an impressive stat. They are in danger of falling into a 2-0 hole, though, on Tuesday night. You can’t blame Marc-Andre Fleury, because he stood on his head in goal for the Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon, but Minnesota goalie Cam Talbot was just a bit better, stopping 42 shots. Fleury faced more quality chances and almost hit double figures in saves worthy of the highlight reels. Vegas has played in nine postseason series, and four times they have dropped the first game, most recently a year ago against Dallas, in the Western Conference Finals.
The issue for Vegas is their scoring in the postseason. In their last nine postseason games, have just 10 goals (not including a pair of empty-netters). That includes the last three games in a seven-game series win over Vancouver, the whole Dallas series and the first game against the Wild. Minnesota has a deep and talented group of defensemen, but the Golden Knights need a way to break through.
Final Prediction:
Vegas 2, Minnesota 0
NHL Betting Odds
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