The Tampa Bay Lightning will head north up to New York to take on the Islanders in today's matinee matchup. This is the second meeting out of three this season where these two teams will face off against each other. The Lightning won the first bout back in November. Both of these teams are also coming into this game on the second half of back-to-backs. The Lightning are coming off of an overtime win over the Red Wings last night while the Islanders are coming off of a beat down from the Bruins. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Lightning-Islanders prediction and pick.
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Here are the Lightning-Islanders NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Lightning-Islanders Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning: -1.5 (+184) (-154 ML)
New York Islanders: +1.5 (-225) (+128 ML)
Over: 5.5 (-108)
Under: 5.5 (-112)
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Why The Lightning Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing their fourth road game in six days today. Uncharacteristically, the Lightning have lost six of their last nine games and during that stretch, their offense has averaged just 2.11 goals per game, much lower than what they're used to scoring. The Lightning made some smart pickups at the trade deadline (such as Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul) but they haven't made a huge impact quite yet.
Backup goaltender Brian Elliott got the win in the net last night so Andrei Vasilevskiy will more than likely be getting the starting nod today. He's been on a three-game losing streak of his own but is still highly considered one of the best goaltenders in the world. He's currently sporting a .920 save percentage and allowing 2.39 goals per game through his 50 games played this season.
Why The Islanders Can Cover The Spread/Win
The New York Islanders are not going to be making it to the playoffs this year, but they refuse to go down without a fight. The Islanders are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, scoring 3.6 goals per game within that time. The Islanders will also be playing their sixth game in nine days. Ilya Sorokin will be looking to get the starting nod in the home crease tonight as he is averaging 2.29 goals against per game with a .927 save percentage. The Islanders made zero moves at the trade deadline, for whatever reason, and have decided to just pack it in for the season, but by going out and just having a good time. They'll look to do that again here tonight.
Final Lightning-Islanders Prediction & Pick
Both of these teams are fatigued and need a solid couple of days to rest back up. The Lightning can't seem to generate offense like they normally should be, and they're going up against a pretty decent goaltender in Sorokin tonight. He's not a superstar by any means, but he'll definitely stop some important pucks. Vasilevskiy is also in net for the Lightning, who will need to improve on his game as he's in a mini-slump of his own right now. If you follow my picks, you'll know that I hate doing this, but I'm going to reluctantly take the under in tonight's game. Both teams are tired, both teams have very good goaltending, I think it could very easily come down to a 3-1 game in any favor.
Final Lightning-Islanders Prediction and Pick: Under 5.5 (-112)
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