The New York Islanders will be looking for a little payback after losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, 6-3. The victory was the third straight for Pittsburgh.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division battle at the PPG Paints Arena. New York is the favorite at -116.. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for Pittsburgh at -105 as the underdog.
New York will be without left-wing Michael Dal Colle, who was lost until at least early April with a lower-body injury. Left-wing Anders Lee was lost two weeks ago with a torn ACL. Pittsburgh lost right-wing Kasperi Kapanen, center Evgeni Malkin, and left-wing Brandon Tanev last week. All three are out indefinitely.
Sorokin Struggles in Loss to Penguins
Ilya Sorokin stopped only five of nine shots before being pulled from Saturday’s contest. Matthew Barzal led the Islanders offense with a goal and assist. Three other players scored a goal for New York.
New York is fourth in the NHL in goals allowed a 2.31 per contest. The penalty killing is 11th at 80.9%. With the exception of the six goals allowed against Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Islanders’ goaltenders have been exceptional. Semyon Varlamov is 14-6-3 with a 2.19 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
New York is averaging 2.94 goals per game. They are 20th on the power-play at 19.4%. Barzal leads the team with 27 points. Nick Eddy is first in assists with 23 and second on the team in points with 24. Brock Nelson leads the team in goals with 12.
Rust Leads Penguins
Bryan Rust scored a hat trick in the victory over the Islanders. He scored the final three goals for Pittsburgh, securing the victory. Jared McCann, Jake Guentzel, and Kris Letang each had two assists for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 29 shots.
Pittsburgh is 10th in goals per game at 3.20. They are sixth in shooting percentage at 10.8%. Pittsburgh is 16th on the power-play at 20.4%. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 25 assists and 39 total points. He is also tied with Guentzel and Rust for the team-leading goals with 14.
The Penguins are also 10th in goals allowed at 10.66. They are 17th in the league in penalty killing at 78.3%. Jarry is 14-8-2 with a 2.83 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
Trends:
New York:
- 2-5 in their last 7 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.
Pittsburgh:
- one in their last five games.
- 7-1 in their last eight games when playing on one day’s rest.
After being blown out on Saturday, somehow oddsmakers have determined that New York is the favorite in this game. Very odd to be honest with you. The Penguins are playing exceptionally well, especially at home. They are 3-0-1 during the first four games of this five-game homestand and are 7-1-1 in their last nine games at home. I really see no reason to go against them here either.
Pick: Take Pittsburgh at -105.
The Total:
These teams have gone over in seven of the last 10 meetings and after Saturday’s contest, I could see why oddsmakers would expect it to go over 5.5 goals here as well. It is quite likely that the total has been set at 5.5 in the vast majority of those 10 games. No reason to buck the trend that looks like a good possibility for success.
Pick: Go over 5.5 at -105.