Stamkos vs Tavares – Who Will Get More Points?

Me and Einz were having a little debate the other day about which first overall pick is going to get more points this season.  Stamkos is going into his second full season with the Tampa Bay Lightning after picking up the pace for the latter stages of his rookie campaign.  Tavares on the other hand has no NHL experience, but he will be playing all situations for the Islanders and will likely be there go to guy right away.

Me and Einz had varying opinions and eventually a bet was made.  I took Tavares to get more points this year.

I feel that although Tavares may not be as NHL ready as Stamkos he will be getting more minutes and most importantly more powerplay minutes than the Lightning #1 pick of 2008.  Tavares will likely be playing close to 20 minutes a game from day 1 and will be The Guy on Long Island.  Compare this to Stamkos playing third fiddle to Lecavalier and St. Louis and you can see my point of view on why Tavares will come out on top of this race.

It all comes down to minutes.  If Tavares is getting an extra five mintues a game, he should be able to turn those minutes into a more productive season, even if the Islanders score far less than the Lightning.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how both players fair this season with the spotlight shining on them once again.