The 2019-20 NHL season is down to the conference finals. In the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars lead the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-1; in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning lead the New York Islanders by the same margin. Dallas and Vegas play Game 5 on Monday night, with Tampa Bay and New York playing one night later. Which teams will skate in the Stanley Cup Finals?
Take a look at our hockey thoughts on each series as you plan your NHL betting for the waning days of the hockey season and the Stanley Cup.
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Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights
Game 5
Monday, September 14
8:00 pm ET, NBC Sports
The Dallas Stars spent big to bring goalie Ben Bishop to town, believing that they needed his elite skills to get back to a Stanley Cup Finals. Bishop last appeared in Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche, a start so disastrous that it seemed to give the Avalanche new life, as they pushed the series to seven games. Instead, it has been Anton Khudobin who has put the team on his back. He shut out Vegas in Game 1 of the West Finals, a white-knuckler of a 1-0 win. After a 3-0 loss in Game 2, he led the Stars to a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 and a 2-1 win in Game 4. In Game 4, he put up 32 saves. He was especially stellar in the third period, shutting down Vegas on a 5-on-3 advantage. So far in the series, he has a .952 save percentage and has permitted 1.64 goals per game. His .930 save percentage for the regular season was the best in the NHL.
Now, with Game 5 coming, the Stars need more out of their backup goalie-turned-playoff sensation. They also need better decisions out of their skaters, as bad penalties led to the two-man advantage for the Golden Knights. Vegas has two elite goalies, with Robin Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury, whose name is on the Stanley Cup. However, the neutral-zone trap that the Stars have run has mostly frustrated the Vegas attack, and when the Golden Knights have made it into the Stars’ zone, Khudobin has been ready. Vegas might come back and take GAme 5, but I like Dallas to win the series and play in the Finals for the first time since 2000, when they lost to New Jersey in six games.
Xbet Prediction:
Dallas Wins | Check the Odds
New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 5
Tuesday, September 15
8:00 pm ET, NBC Sports
The New York Islanders scored the first goal of Game 4 on Sunday. However, it only took 15 seconds for the Lightning to tie the game, and 12 more seconds for the Lightning to take the lead. Blake Coleman scored the equalizer, and Ondrej Palat put the Lightning ahead. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots, as defenseman Victor Hedman logged 29:12 of ice time.
All of this has put the Lightning one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 2015. Vasilevskiy has been in net for every minute of every Tampa Bay game in these playoffs. The Islanders are seeing injuries mount, as forwards Tom Kuhnackl and Casey Cizikas have left the bubble as they will not return to play in the postseason.
Tampa Bay has been a perennial favorite to go to the Stanley Cup Finals but has underperformed in recent years in the playoffs after dominant regular seasons. It looks like they have figured things out, at least on the Eastern Conference side of the bracket, winning without captain Steven Stamkos. The Islanders might be able to extend this by one more game, but that’s all they will get, as the Lightning win the series.
Xbet Prediction:
Lightning Wins | Check the Odds
