NHL Top Playoff Picks For June 1st, 2022 - Take Tampa

The Reintroduction Of Tampa Bay and New York?

In fact, this feels more like the reintroduction of Tampa Bay and New York. For about half a decade, maybe longer, Tampa Bay was viewed as New York South. These are things that one cannot make up. Then, there is the playoff history and that is when the Lightning and Rangers get a little saucy.

Our idea is to hit the NHL Top Picks of June 1st, 2022 running! There are some ways to attack this but first, sometimes if one does not look at recent history, some things could be missed. The last time these two teams faced off in the playoffs was 2015. It was for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final then. New York was in the midst of a run of three such appearances in four years. Who knew what would happen next?

Tampa was on a run itself with several deep runs in the playoffs. However, like New York, they could not win the big one. New York had come so close the previous year against Los Angeles. They were just two goals from the Stanley Cup. Everything was set. All the Rangers had to do was win Game 7. What happened? Ben Bishop shut out New York for the second time in three games -- both time at Madison Square Garden. Both teams had issue holding home ice advantage as each only won once at home.

The Eastern Conference Finals also just so happen to feature two incredible goalies. Last time it was Ben Bishop and Henrik Lundqvist. This time it is Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin. We cover all the necessary bases so that you can easily spot the top betting sites for the NHL, as well as a conduit to allow you to shop around.

Should Tampa Bay Be Favored In Game 1?

It is a mild surprise that Game 1 puts bettors in a pickle right away. Should Tampa Bay be favored over New York in Game 1? That's a great question! Recent history says no. This is because New York swept all three meetings in the regular season from Tampa Bay. Now, the argument can be made that the Lightning were not healthy or in good form. Both of those are true. It is clear from the four game sweep of Florida that the Tampa of the last two-plus years is back.

One of the juicier tidbits from that 2015 series was how even the games were. Goals were 21 apiece in that one. There were a couple of crooked scoring games sprinkled in with the outstanding goaltending. What is eerie is that we could very well see that again. New York had home-ice advantage in that series as well. The Rangers also are coming straight in after that 6-2 Game 7 win in Carolina on Monday night.

Though Brayden Point is not coming through that door for Game 1, there is a possibility he does return for this series. That news energized Tampa Bay some during their rest. The Lightning are one of the few teams that can turn things on quickly. They are also one of the few that can play on the "sloppy" ice at Madison Square Garden.

Most tend to forget how rocky New York looked at home against a hobbled Pittsburgh team with Louis Domingue in goal. Again, this battle between Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy will be epic. However, Vasilevskiy has the pedigree and is the teacher in this case. That is why they are one of our NHL Top Playoff Picks for game number one. Add in Tampa's special teams which is a significant step up from what New York saw against Carolina.