isles

Las Vegas - Skating out to Edmonton for the Eastern Conference Final between the Lightning and Islanders on a sheet of neutral ice.

First the head-to-head, or skate-to-skate matchups. In the first meeting back in November in New York, the Islanders cruised to a 5-2 victory, and the Over/Under total which was posted at 6 goals, went Over. The next game was at Washington, and the Isles rocked the Capitals again, 5-1, and the total, 6 goals, turned into a push. The Caps got some revenge in Washington, beat the New Yorkers 3-1, and the total, 6 goals, was an easy Under. Tampa beat the Blue Jackets (4-1) and the Bruins (4-1) to advance to the Final. And their D has been much better in the bubble, with 9 Unders, 3 Overs and 1 push. New York beat the Panthers (3-1) in the qualifier, then the Capitals (4-1) and the Flyers (4-3) to advance.

If you're interested, the GRAND SALAMI for today's baseball action, total runs scored by all teams, is 98.5!!!

No major injuries to report for the Islanders, but Mathew Barzal's face is a major catastrophe. Tampa will be without captain Steven Stamkos, and star forward Nikita Kucherov is listed as questionable. Wasn't he the Premier of the Soviet Union back in the day? Oops. Just got an alert that Nikita is now listed as probable.

The Islanders are basically a defensive trap type system, but they've been turning on the red light in the playoffs, with the second most goals scored among the final four teams. They've scored 50 post-season goals while the Lightning have found the net 39 times. New York also leads the last four teams standing in goals for (3.33), and goals against (2.07) per game. Gonna tickle the Isles tonight, but it is only the first game of the series, so we'll tickle light, very light, with just a feather.

It's a very, very, very, VERY sad day. Why? Because I'm gonna bet AGAINST the Yankees for maybe the third time in the last 40 years. DON'T tell my kids!!! But with four guys batting UNDER .200 for the NYY, and Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching for the Blue Jays, I really have no other choice.

Just got word that Denver's Nikola Jokic is now listed as QUESTIONABLE with a right wrist sprain. Line should be double digits by game time if he is out. Taking a pass.

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