New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 Prediction and Betting Odds June 1

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 Preview

WagerTalk NHL handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his thoughts on Wednesday’s New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Eastern Conference Finals Game 1. The Lightning are riding a 6-game playoff winning streak including a 4-0 sweep of the Florida Panthers last round.

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Wednesday, June 1	NHL Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars
Moneyline:	New York Rangers +106 vs Tampa Bay Lightning -126
Puckline:	Rangers +1.5 (-250) / Lightning -1.5 (+220)
Total:	5.5 Goals (Over -105 / Under -115)
Game Time:	8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT
Arena:	Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
TV:	ESPN

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Analysis

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup semi-finals tips off on Wednesday as current champions the Tampa Bay Lightning face the New York Rangers over in MSG later tonight.

Tampa Bay will go in as favorites for both this game and the series as a whole after dispatching President’s Trophy winners the Florida Panthers in a 4-0 sweep in the last round while the New York Rangers have been pushed to the brink in both of their recent series victories, securing Game 7 wins against Pittsburgh and Carolina respectively to make it to this point.

Tampa Bay and New York met three times during the regular season with the Rangers owning a 3-0 sweep against the Lightning in that series.

History On The Line For Tampa

The Tampa Bay Lightning are attempting to become the first team since the early 1980’s to win three Stanley Cups in a row, which hasn’t been done since the New York Islanders managed to do it between 1980-83 (4 titles).

A huge help with that ahead of this semi-final series is the fact that Tampa Bay come into tonight’s game coming off nine days of rest and have been incredibly proficient as a well-rested outfit over the last two seasons, going 42-20 over their last 62 games when coming off at least three days of rest from the game prior.

Rangers Continue to Battle

While the New York Rangers certainly don’t have the pedigree of Tampa Bay over recent seasons, their will to win over these playoffs so far has been absolutely immense.

Five different times over this postseason the New York Rangers have faced elimination and five different times they’ve managed to find a way to overcome it and move on.

They’ll no doubt face their stiffest test of the season so far in this Tampa Bay series but in #1 goalie Igor Shesterkin and #1 player in both power play goals and game winning goals this season in Chris Kreider, the Rangers certainly have the ability to create problems for the Lightning in this one.

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction

We’re looking towards the Under in this one for Wednesday. Both Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy are expected in nets tonight for both teams and both goalies have been absolutely immense over recent series victories.

Vasilevskiy averaged a .979 SV% in his series victory over the Florida Panthers last time out and Shesterkin averaging a .951 SV% over his last five games against the Carolina Hurricanes, along with ranking as the #1 goalie outright in the league this season on total GSAA average.

On top of that, Tampa Bay are finding ways to shut opponents down over this post-season so far, holding opponents in the playoffs to just 2.45 gapg this year (#2) and own the playoffs 2nd lowest opponent shots to goal percentage also at just 7.30% on average.

We expect this game to be cagey throughout and we’re backing the Under 5.5 goals on Wednesday night in the Game 1 matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers over in MSG.

Prediction: Under 5.5 Goals Scored

NHL Betting Guide

Thanks to the ever-expanding sports betting industry, there are now a variety of ways to attack the betting market outside of the traditional point spreads, moneylines and totals. Few sports have seen an increase of betting popularity like hockey, and we now have several different ways to wager on the NHL and international leagues. Check out our NHL Betting Guide with helpful terms and tips for novice bettors.

Puck Time | NHL Predictions for June 1

Join Carmine Bianco, Andrew McInnis and The Prez for Wednesday’s edition of Puck Time as our panel of professional hockey handicappers break down tonight’s NHL playoff game between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers and look ahead to the New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning game tomorrow.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NHL moneylines, puck lines and betting percentages for all of the NHL playoff action, including this New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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Meet the Author

‘The sharpest sports mind in Ireland’ is how one prominent newspaper dubbed Kevin Dolan after he became the first foreigner ever to win the World Series of Handicapping tournament back in 2015. “The Irishman” made his start wagering on GAA, football, soccer and boxing, all to immense success. Since becoming a professional bettor, he has since lit up the sports betting scene in the U.S. and abroad, winning two handicapping awards and writing a best-selling book on sports handicapping named ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Betting’.

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