Three more first-round series could be decided when the NHL playoffs continue on Wednesday night. The action starts on Long Island, where the New York Islanders look to complete the upset of the Pittsburgh Penguins when they hit the ice for Game 6 in a pick’em matchup on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Losers in six of eight regular season meetings, New York posted back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh this past weekend and now takes a 3-2 series lead into Wednesday night’s contest at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders reclaimed the series in entertaining fashion on Monday, outlasting Pittsburgh in double-overtime to take home a 3-2 win. New York also enjoys a historical edge over the Penguins in postseason action. The team has topped Pittsburgh in four of five previous playoff matchups, and has posted wins in seven of their past nine post-season dates. Poised to advance to the second round for the fourth time in as many playoff appearances, the Islanders are now set as -280 favourites at betting sites on the NHL playoff series prices.
Still reeling from Monday’s marathon defeat, Pittsburgh has struggled to generate consistent offence in this series, scoring two or fewer goals in three of the past four games. The Penguins have avoided losing three in a row so far this season, but with just one win in their past eight road playoff games, the team has tumbled to a +230 wager to rebound and knock off the Islanders in this series.
Later in the evening on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be looking to close out their first-round matchup with Florida as they host the Panthers as -150 chalk. Wednesday’s schedule then closes out in Minnesota, where the Wild will try to force a decisive Game 7 date with Vegas as they battle the Golden Knights as +115 home underdogs.
The Panthers avoided elimination on Monday by tallying a decisive 4-1 victory to cut Tampa Bay’s series lead to 3-2. Florida won the season series with their cross-state rival, posting wins in five of eight meetings. However, despite scoring four goals per game while winning three of six overall road dates with Tampa Bay, the Panthers remain +310 underdogs to get past the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round.
The Wild staved off elimination with a 4-2 win in Vegas in Game 5, but have been outscored by a wide 12-4 margin while losing three straight games at home to the Golden Knights, who head into Game 6 as -135 road betting favourites.
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