This is a 7* on TAMPA BAY

Just like last year, Tampa Bay will face the Islanders for the right to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. Last year’s Eastern Conference Final was won by the Lightning in six games as they went on to win the whole thing. That series was played in a bubble. This time TB has the home ice edge, a nice deal for them as they were 21-7 at home in the regular season. While they’ve got a better record on the road than at home in the postseason, don’t think for a second the Lightning didn’t want home ice advantage in this series. The Islanders have a much better record at home than on the road. New York has also fallen behind two games to one in both series thus far. Tampa Bay jumped out to 2-0 series leads against Florida and Carolina. Both teams are averaging just over 3.5 goals/game in the playoffs. But the Islanders average only 2.2 goals per game on the road for the season. They’ve also allowed 37.7 shots/game in these playoffs. Unlike last year’s Conference Finals, Steven Stamkos is healthy for the Lightning. He has 13 points in 11 playoff games. Vasilevskiy (.934 postseason save percentage) is the best goalie in this series. Play on TAMPA BAY

AAA