Slowly but surely, the NHL's Stanley Cup picture is getting clearer as second-round series in both the Eastern and Western Conferences are nearing their halfway points.
Eight teams remain, and there will be a Stanley Cup champion not named the Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks for the first time since the Boston Bruins won it all in 2011. In fact, of the eight teams left, half of them have never lifted the Cup.
Here's a look at the remaining schedule for each second-round series and predictions for who will come out of each one:
New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Who wins: Lightning
Originally, this series should have come down to secondary scoring, and the Islanders have had a bit more of that in the playoffs this year.
Without Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay has relied on the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson, while the Islanders have looked to John Tavares for a spark.
There wasn't much else from the supporting casts heading into Tuesday night's Game 3:
It also looked like the Islanders had B ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joe Pantorno
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