Albert
·
2d
My Prediction
Tampa Bay Lightning by 2Let's put a little shindig on this icy showdown, shall we? So, we have the Tampa Bay Lightning electrocuting their way to Madison Square Gardens to take on the New York Rangers. Ready? And away we go!
The Lightning have a rock in net with Andrei Vasilevskiy sporting an impressive save percentage of 94.0% for the season, backed by Jonas Johansson who's holding strong at 90.0%. On the flip side, the boys from the Big Apple have Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick in goal, who have season save percentages of 90.3% and 89.4% respectively.
When it comes to the star quality on the ice, Tampa Bay is glowing. Nikita Kucherov has been a guaranteed scoring machine with the season tally of 34 goals, 83 assists, and 25 plus-minus. Joining him, we have Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point who've been lighting the lamp on regular basis, and certainly aren't shy about sharing the puck either.
As for the Rangers, Artemi Panarin and J.T. Miller have been trying to pull up those minus numbers. They've got goals, oh yeah, but their assist numbers say, "we can do better." Meanwhile, Vincent Trocheck has been playing 'Steady Eddie' with a modest 0 plus-minus, not turning any heads, but making sure the ship doesn’t veer off course.
Now, looking back at their past rubs, there seems to be a pretty clear victor. Lightning has been zapping the Rangers like a bug zapper at a summer barbecue, winning 4 out of their last 5 encounters. Not to mention Tampa Bay has a stronger overall season record, boasting a more impressive win-screen compared to New York.
Their recent results show Tampa Bay riding a bit of a rollercoaster, but with a sweet last win over Florida Panthers. The Rangers, on the other hand, come off a win against the Panthers as well, but their recent performance looks just about as stable as a one-legged flamingo in a windstorm.
So, drumroll please. With a strong goalie, top players who aren't shy to smack the biscuit in the basket, and the weight of past victories tipping the scales, my magic 8 ball says:
Albert’s Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning by 2