Isles vs Sens Hockey Betting?
The streaking New York Islanders head to Canada’s Nation’s Capital on Wednesday night looking to put another nail in the coffin of Ottawa’s slim playoff hopes. New York is playing their best hockey of the season strangely, going 4-0-1 in their last five games while Ottawa has matched that record over their last five games – maybe a little late.
CLICK TO GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Picks for 2014 HOCKEY Betting!
NY Islanders (29-35-5-5) at Ottawa (32-29-7-7)
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Broadcast: TSN, MSG PLUS, TVA
Isles vs. Sens Betting Lines
Line: Sens -185
Total: 5.5
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Inconsistent Senators Look To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive – Host Islanders
The Isles have little to play for but pride while the Senators should be a desperate team Wednesday, playing for their playoff lives.
The New York Islanders have been relegated to the all-too-familiar spoiler role this season and they have been doing a good job lately – 4-0-1 in their last five games overall and 4-1-2 in their last seven games on the road. 10 rookies started in their 4-2 win Tuesday night against Florida and we should get a similar look Wednesday night.
*CLICK HERE* GRAB Razor Ray’s NHL Hockey Picks for 2014 GAMBLING season!
The Islanders have actually been OK offensively this year but the team really took a hit when John Tavares went down with a knee injury. The team is still competing however averaging 2.71 goals per game. Josh Bailey has led the way as New York has been forced to play without John Tavares (knee), Michael Grabner (concussion) and Kyle Okposo (lower body). Bailey has a goal and three assists in the past four games for New York, Colin McDonald has five points in four games and Matt Martin has four points in four games.
The Isles have benefitted from some quality goaltending as of late as well – something that was absent for this team the majority of the season. On the whole New York averages a terrible 3.25 GAA but they have gotten better down the stretch. Evgeni Nabokov is 2-0-1 in his last three starts with a terrific 1.30 GAA and .957 save percentage.
The Ottawa Senators may have waited too long for their surge up the standings but they enter Wednesday night`s game with a glimmer of hope, especially when they saw the teams around them in the standings fail to create some space on Tuesday night. The Senators have been tough to figure out – as inconsistent a team as there has been in the league this year. But with their playoff lives on the line every night, we have seen the best of the Sens the last week or so.
[ad-4437448]
Ottawa may be forced to play without Jason Spezza for the second straight game Wednesday night – he is nursing an undisclosed injury and would represent a big void for this team if he doesn`t play. Ottawa`s offense has been decent this year averaging 2.84 goals per game and they have picked it up lately. Erik Karlsson has earned at least one point in nine of his past 11 games. He has three goals and 10 assists over that span, Milan Michalek has three goals in his past three games, Clarke MacArthur has five points in three games and Ales Hemsky, who score the shootout winner and was the difference in their win against Carolina has three points in two games.
The offense for Ottawa is predictably taking care of itself – the defense and goaltending has turned the corner and is making a huge difference for this squad. Ottawa surrenders and average of 3.24 goals per game – ugly numbers for a team hoping to make the playoffs. Defense has clearly been Ottawa`s downfall this season but goaltender Craig Anderson is playing well since missing five games with a lower body injury. He is 2-0-0 with a 1.92 GAA and .950 save percentage in his last two games. He should get the start Wednesday.
Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• NYI are 6-20 in their last 26 Wed. games.
• Under is 19-7-1 in NYI last 27 Wed. games.
• NYI are 44-100 in their last 144 vs. Atlantic.
• Over is 23-5-1 in OTT last 29 Wed. games.
• OTT are 2-9 in their last 11 Wed. games.
• Under is 7-2 in OTT last 9 vs. Metropolitan.
• NYI are 8-22-3 in the last 33 meetings in Ottawa.
• NYI are 16-43-6 in the last 65 meetings.
The New York Islanders are actually a better road team than they are a home team – they are 17-17-2 away from home and five games under .500 at home. It is amazing that the Isles are still competing when looking at some of the names that have been out of their lineup. My guess is that their recent good luck catches up with them Wednesday night and the fact that they played Tuesday night slows the young team enough for Ottawa to take advantage. Ottawa is a better team than their record suggests – desperation looks good on them!
Pick: Ottawa Senators
