NHL Pick: Under 6.5 (-140) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
The New York Islanders have faltered a lot in their previous three NHL games, currently, on an 0-3 losing streak they now have two points less than the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan division and have played four games more than today’s opposition.
Pittsburgh has won 3 of their previous five outings and with four games advantage over both the Islanders and Washington Capitals, they have given themselves a strong chance of making this year’s playoffs.
New Yorkers, don’t forget that there is a New York betting sites guide available so you can find the best book to bet with.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders
Friday, February 17, 2023 – 07:00 PM EST at UBS Arena
Preview
The Penguins' number one goaltender Tristan Jarry is still struggling with injury and will miss this game. Casey DeSmith has proved to be an okay backup, allowing 3.21 goals per game with a 10-11-4 overall record.
Pittsburgh has been scoring a mediocre 3.21 goals per game which are slightly less than we would expect given their roster, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have carried the team this season scoring a combined 119 points. Jake Guentzel has also been strong having scored exactly one point per game 49 points in 49 games.
The Islanders are hoping to put a stop to their current 0-3 streak which has seen them lose all three games as pre-game favorites, a tag they have also been given today. Since Bo Horvat joined the Islanders, he has scored 4 points in 5 games played which is a solid return.
Horvat has scored 3 points in two games against the Penguins thus far this season and will be hoping to lead his new team to victory tonight. A win for the Islanders tonight would see them jump into the Washington Capitals playoff spot.
Picks and Predictions
New York Islanders Moneyline
The Islanders have the edge in this game, not only have they the much better goaltender in Ilya Sorokin who has gone 11-9 on home ice and allowed only 1.9 goals per game compared to the expected Penguins starter Casey DeSmith who has allowed 3.20 goals per game this season.
They should be slightly less fatigued as they played their previous game on home ice while the Pittsburgh Penguins are just fresh off a west coast trip that saw them lose 6-0 to a competitive Kings team and they beat the Ducks and Sharks which was expected of them.
The home team is 4-1 in the previous five meetings between these teams and the Penguins have now lost six in a row against their divisional rivals. With the Islanders desperate for a win and the Penguins' inconsistencies, we are taking a home win for our NHL picks.
NHL Pick: New York Islanders ML (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Total Over/Under
Let’s be real here if we expect the Islanders to come away with a win in this game we have to lean towards the under, although we will buy ourselves the -140 NHL odds on the under 6.5 goals line as opposed to the +110 that’s on offer when looking at the under 5.5 goals line.
The Islanders are 22-7 to the under 6.5 goals when playing on home ice this season, which is the second highest in the Eastern Conference behind the runaway leaders Boston Bruins.
Even looking at the Penguins under 6.5 record when playing on the road they have gone 19-9 thus far this season. Surprisingly 6 of the last 10 games between these teams on the Islanders' ice has seen the over 6.5 cash, let’s hope they don’t make it 7 in 11.
NHL Pick: Under 6.5 (-140) at Heritage Sports
Noah Dobson Over/Under Shots
Brock Nelson is the obvious choice for shots on this Islanders team and although the Penguins give up a lot of shots (the seventh most in the NHL) we don’t like Nelson's shot total line at 3.5 for +120, mainly because he only averages three shots per home game.
Noah Dobson however can be bet at -125 with BetOnline to pick up 3+ shots tonight, which seems like a good bet in our eyes considering Dobson have averaged 3.4 shots per game on home ice this season and managed to hit three last time he faced the Penguins on the road where he usually only averages 2.4 shots per game.
Despite going under 2.5 shots in three of his last five games, Dobson is coming off the back of an 8-shot game against the Ottawa Senators.
NHL Pick: Noah Dobson Ove 2.5 Shots (-125) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
