Do the Bolts dominate in New York as well?

The East is calling – New York and Tampa Bay are calling back. Together, they will square off Thursday night for the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, and the conditions are somewhat uneven.

While the Lightning have now had eight days off since their fourth round two win over the Panthers, the Rangers had to play a nail-biting Game 7 at the Hurricanes just Monday night. This they passed, but at what cost?

Especially for game one of this series, the starting position is clear to us: The Bolts are rested like no other team in these playoffs and should be able to bring that freshness to the ice. Coupled with their confidence from the Panthers series, a very dangerous combination.

So for Rangers vs. Lightning, our prediction for both Game 1 and the entire series is a superior Tampa team that would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight year. That would have not happened since the 84/85 season.

New York Rangers – Statistics & current form

The New York Rangers are a phenomenon. Against both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Panthers they were already down 2:3 in their series, only to win the last two games in each case.

Against the Pens, it was even a 1:3 series deficit that they were able to overcome. The crazy thing is that in both decisive games they had 7 fewer shots than their opponents and were still victorious.

Rangers the champions of effectiveness

Nobody can beat them in goal anyway this postseason. In the series against Carolina, they ended up with fewer shots on goal in six of the seven duels, some of them significantly fewer.

So the total balance of this series was 183:235 in the end. To still win the series with 52 fewer shots is quite a feat. But against the Bolts and their world-class goalie Vassilevskyi, this streak is sure to end.

Momentum as the only plus

Now that the Rangers haven’t had a break between the two series, they should be significantly more depleted than Tampa. However, the positive of this situation is that they can take their high from the Game 7 triumph into Game 1 against the Lightning.

However, we see the lack of freshness as crucial, which is why a bet against the Rangers can be seen as a more sensible betting option for New York vs. Tampa Bay. We even expect a rather one-sided first duel in this series.

Key Players:
G: Igor Shesterkin
D: K’Andre Miller
D: Jacob Trouba
LW: Chris Kreider
C: Mika Zibanejad
RW: Frank Vatrano

Tampa Bay Lightning – Statistics & current form

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the only team to win their series 4-0 in Round 2. The reward: a full eight days off and a recovery period that rarely happens in the postseason.

This huge advantage should now also have an effect on the Rangers series, especially since they only had to play an exhausting Game 7 two days ago. Plus, the break has ensured that Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point could return to the lineup.

Break worth its weight in gold for Tampa Bay

Brayden Point missed the entire series against Florida but should be ready to go again soon, which is a clear upgrade for their lineup. Brandon Hagel, who missed all of the last few practices, could also be ready to go for Game 1.

So the Rangers’ extended break and Game 7 was positive for the Bolts in more ways than one. There is little overall going against them in this series, as even their biggest weakness in face-offs (just 45.3%) is undercut by the Rangers (41.4%, weakest of any team).

Lightning likely to favour low scoring games

What Tampa’s series against Florida showed is that they can get their champion defense back on the ice already. That’s when they were able to hold the best offensive team of the season to just three total hits. That gives them a terrific average of only 0.75 goals against per game.

If they can keep up this form, the series against the Rangers should not last too long. So for Rangers vs Bolts, the odds are to favour Tampa in every way, in Game 1 now even with a handicap of up to -1.5.

Key Players:
G: Andrei Vasilevskiy
D: Victor Hedman
D: Jan Rutta
LW: Ondrej Palat
C: Brayden Point
RW: Nikita Kucherov

New York Rangers – Tampa Bay Lightning head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Is regular season head-to-head comparison a factor we need to consider in the playoffs? This question has come up more often recently, but we see this point as less important because the playoffs are a completely new situation.

Nevertheless, we want to mention it briefly. Here, the Rangers won four of the last five duels. However, we can also turn it around and read it out: Of their last five home games against Tampa, the Rangers won only two.

More important to us than these statistics, however, is the current form, which is clearly in favour of the Bolts, who have also played three games less. For New York against Tampa, the odds per Lightning are therefore our clear betting recommendation.

New York Rangers – Tampa Bay Lightning Tip

It’s off to New York, where the Rangers have been very strong lately. The momentum at home is on their side. Everything else, however, speaks clearly for the reigning champions from Tampa. Among other things, the fact that they know this situation from the last two years.

They were able to survive the Eastern Conference Finals twice against New York (though it was the Islanders in each case). For Rangers vs. Lightning, a bet on Tampa at good odds is therefore also our betting option No.1 for Wednesday. The longer break should be very helpful, especially in Game 1.

New York Rangers – Tampa Bay Lightning Tip

It’s off to New York, where the Rangers have been very strong lately. The momentum at home is on their side. Everything else, however, speaks clearly for the reigning champions from Tampa. Among other things, the fact that they know this situation from the last two years.

They were able to survive the Eastern Conference Finals twice against New York (though it was the Islanders in each case). For Rangers vs. Lightning, a bet on Tampa at good odds is therefore our No.1 betting option for Wednesday. The longer break should be very helpful, especially in Game 1.

As an alternative, bets on subpar points are in order in this series. We strongly expect the Bolts’ defence, led by their stalwart goalie Vasilevskiy, to put the stamp on the series. In the New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning match, betting odds of 2.17 are offered for the prediction of a win for Tampa under 7.5 goals.