Mark Lammey

The Carolina Hurricanes pushed the New York Islanders to the brink of elimination in Game 3 with a narrow 3-2 road win. It’s been a super slim margin for the entire series. The Islanders haven’t played poorly, by any means, in this series. New York lost just 3-1 in Game 1 down in Raleigh, and it was tied 1-1 into the third period, and just 2-1 before an empty-net goal at 18:28. The Isles actually led 3-1 midway through the third in Game 2, before an epic collapse, allowing four goals in the final 10 minutes. In Game 3, the Islanders pulled the goalie, and were attacking Frederik Andersen with everything and the kitchen sink in the waning moments, they just couldn’t get over the hump.

The Hurricanes have not dominated, but they have done all of the small things, while getting the job done physically, including plenty of punishing hits. Carolina has the better goaltender, too, as a shift to Ilya Sorokin didn’t move the needle for the Islanders in Game 3. He was good, but really no better than Semyon Varlamov was in the first two games. Carolina scored on the power play in the first two games, but it was 0-for-2 on the man advantage in Game 3. The Islanders should be able to get this series back to Raleigh with a hard-fought win, extending their season at least one more game. New York has been so close, you have to feel it is going to break through for at least one win, or this will be a blowout the other way.

Islanders ML at +154 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Another home underdog — albeit slight — is the Tampa Bay Lightning. In recent years, that would be nothing short of shocking, but the dynasty looks to be over. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. The veteran experience of Steven Stamkos, elite goaltending of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov winning the Art Ross Trophy for the most points in the league are all reasons to trust Tampa Bay on home ice. The Bolts just as desperate as the Islanders, as they too are on the brink of elimination. 

The Florida Panthers look to be the new powerhouse in the Sunshine State, but we still see this series heading back to South Beach. Let’s not forget that it wasn’t long ago that the Lightning were the ones bouncing the Panthers out of the postseason. As long as they can get Brayden Point in the flow of the game early and have Victor Hedman control the blue line, Tampa Bay is a threat to any team — even one with as much depth as Florida. 

Now it’s time to shift our focus to the Western Conference, where the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights have taken complete control of their opening round series. However, the Dallas Stars are the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference for a reason; I don’t expect them to completely give up hope following just 2 losses. Going on the road is never easy, but perhaps a change of scenario and getting the pressure of the home crowd off their shoulders will bode well for them. 

It’s also worth noting that per Moneypuck.com, Dallas comes out victorious over 62% of the time in Game 2. While expectations clearly don’t always translate to reality, it demonstrates that the Stars are still competitive. Their top line of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski is as strong as it gets, and captain Jamie Benn has been having one of the best seasons of his great career. They may not have the depth to prolong this series enough to advance, but they can bring things to 2-1 tonight.