New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – 9/13/20 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet in game four of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series in NHL action from Rogers Place on Sunday.

The New York Islanders will look to even up the series at two wins apiece following a 5-3 win over the Lightning to get on the board in the series.

Cal Clutterbuck opened the scoring for the Isles with just over seven minutes to go in the opening frame, but Mikhail Sergachev would tie the game at one just 3:33 later. Adam Pelech restored New York’s lead with just over eight minutes to go in the second period and Anthony Beauvillier would push the lead to 3-1 just two minutes later. The 3-1 score would hold going into the third where Ondrej Palat pulled one back just 2:32 into the 3rd to make it 3-2 and Tyler Johnson would tie the game at three for Tampa with just under eight minutes to go, but Brock Nelson would restore New York’s lead for good with just 3:25 to go in the game and Jean-Gabriel Pageau would ice the win with an empty net goal for insurance late in the 3rd.

Semyon Varlamov got the win in net for the Islanders after stopping 34 of 37 shots faced in the win while Andrei Vasilevskiy ended up with the defeat for Tampa Bay between the pipes after allowing four goals on 35 shots faced in the losing effort.

New York is 13-3 in their last 16 Sunday games and 5-14 in their last 19 games as an underdog while the over is 3-0-1 in their last 4 games following a win. Tampa Bay is 38-14 in their last 52 games overall and 23-8 in their last 31 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 Sunday games. Tampa Bay is 14-5 in the last 19 meetings between these two teams.

I get the Lightning being favored as they’re still a really good team that still has a series lead coming into this one, but the Islanders picked up some confidence after getting on the board in game three and know that a win here makes this a completely new series. I like Tampa Bay and the balance that they bring to the table, but I just have a feeling that this is going to be another long series, so I’ll take New York and the plus money to even this series up at two wins apiece.