Islanders vs Penguins NHL Spread/Handicapping
The Pittsburgh Penguins are right where they thought they would be – the #1 seed in the East and looking like the team to beat in the Conference. The New York Islanders on the other hand surprised many by qualifying for the playoffs since 2007.
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#8 NY Islanders (24-17-4-3) at #1 Pittsburgh Penguins (36-12-0-0)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: TSN, NBCSN, MSG PLUS, ROOT
Isles vs. Pens Betting Lines from betonline.com
New York Islanders +1½ -145 +208 Ov 5½ -105
Pittsburgh Penguins -1½ +125 -230 Un 5½ -105
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Headline: Penguins Begin Cup Chase versus Surprising islanders
The two teams clash in the “David and Goliath” matchup of the first round starting Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh won four of five meetings against the Islanders this season, while outscoring New York by a margin of 17-9.
The New York islanders posted an 8-1-4 run in April to return to the postseason but they lost three straight to end the year. John Tavares almost single-handedly propelled this team to the postseason and led the team with 28 goals and 47 points in 48 games. Matt Moulson ended up right behind him with 44 points in 47 contests, while Brad Boyes recorded 35 points.
Tavares had four goals and an assist over the final five games of the regular season for an offense that ended up with an average of 2.81 goals for this season, Mark Streit picked up 11 points from the back end in the final 15 games and Matt Moulson posted nine points, including four goals, in 12 games to end the year
The offense will have to carry the team in Game 1 – New York’s defense was just average this season allowing 2.83 goals per game. Evgeni Nabokov posted 23 wins along with a .910 save percentage this year.
He was OK but will most certainly have a tough time fending off a Pittsburgh offense that was absolutely elite all season long. [ad-4437448]
The Pittsburgh Penguins really separated themselves from the rest of the eastern Conference toward the end of the year finishing finished nine points ahead of the second-place Canadiens in the standings despite having Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and James Neal all missing some time this year. The additions of Brenden Morrow, Jarome Iginla and Jussi Jokinen have only strengthened what is the scariest team in the game.
The Pens are somewhat healthy and for the first time all year may have all hands on deck Wednesday – assuming Crosby is cleared to play.
The Pens averaged a superb 3.38 goals per game this season – everybody chipped in. Newcomers Jarome Iginla had four goals, including three on the power play, and six assists in his last nine outings to finish the regular season, Brenden Morrow had six goals and 13 points in his past nine matches, Jussi Jokinen registered seven goals and 11 points in 10 games since joining Pittsburgh from Carolina.
They have been the hottest Pens – AND WE HAVEN’T EVEN MENTIONED JAMES NEIL, EVGENI MALKIN AND SID!
Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Pens in Game 1 is Marc-Andre Fleury who was dreadful in the playoffs last year. The good news is that he has had a bounce-back season. The bad news is that he is 2-2-0 in his last four starts overall with a 3.28 GAA and .899 save percentage.
Betting Prediction:
A few trends to consider:
• NYI are 8-22 in their last 30 Wed. games.
• NYI are 33-86 in their last 119 vs. Atlantic.
• PIT are 7-2 in their last 9 vs. Atlantic.
• Under is 10-3 in PIT last 13 home games.
• PIT are 38-13 in their last 51 overall.
• NYI are 5-21 in the last 26 meetings in Pittsburgh.
• NYI are 7-23 in the last 30 meetings.
The New York Islanders will likely be happy to have ended their playoff drought but have to be mortified to have drawn the Pens in the first round. Pittsburgh has owned the Islanders the last few seasons and with a serious lack of depth on the Islanders, expect that trend to continue. New York may scratch out a victory at home but there is no way the catch the Pens off guard on Wednesday. This is an easy game to call!
Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins -230
