Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Penguins vs Islanders NHL Odds
Looking for Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Penguins taking on the Islanders on Thursday, April 20th at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Penguins Islanders matchup.
NHL Handicapping Analysis
(37-16-3) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders (32-17-7)
Date: Thursday, May 20th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Nassau Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Penguins -105| Islanders -115
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Islanders -1.5 (+220)
NHL Betting Total: 5
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to even up their East Division semifinals series with the Islanders with a 2-1 win on Tuesday, but the fact that the home team only split 1-1 at PPG Paints Arena is cause for concern.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Oddsmakers are calling game three a close one, so obviously both teams have value. Pittsburgh is -105 despite being one of the hotter teams in the league down the stretch which led them to a 1st place finish in the East via a tie breaker over the Capitals.
The Penguins are disappointed with a split at home, but may have reinforcements coming with Evgeni Malkin making the trip to Uniondale. Malkin returned to play 3 of the final 4 regular season games, scoring 3 points.
Pittsburgh was the #2 scoring team in the league during the regular season, behind Sidney Crosby who was 10th in points with 62. Crosby hada goal in the game loss, butwas held scoreless in the 2-1 Pittsburgh win on Tuesday.
The good news for the Penguins is that Tristan Jarry had a nice bounce back in net in game two, stopping 37 of 38 shots. Pittsburgh is still giving up a lot of shots though, with Jarry surrendering 4 goals on 41 attempts in game one.
New York Islanders
Can the Islanders put together a fitting Swan Song in their last season at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum? New York was great here during the regular season (21-4-3) at a place that used to be called “Fort Neverlose” in the 80s.
New York will have a little over half capacity of fans in game three, and have won 37 of their last 54 games as a home favorite. The Islanders finished 4th in the East during the regular season, but that’s not as bad as it sounds as they were 11 up on the Rangers, and just 6 back from Pitt.
One good thing about the Islanders is that they’ve launched so far this series, pelting Jarry with 71 SOG so far in two games. They were great in game one with Kyle Palmieri tallying two scores, but had just a Josh Bailey goal on Tuesday.
The Islanders have used two different goaltenders through games one and two, with Ilya Sorokin picking up a win despite allowing 3 goals on 42 shots in game one. Semyon Varlamov took the L on Tuesday despite stopping 43 of 45 SOG.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Penguins are 7-2 last 9 road games
- Penguins are 38-18 last 56 overall
- Over is 9-2 in Penguins last 11 road games
- Islanders are 21-7 last 28 home games
- Islanders are 2-6 last 8 as a favorite
- Under is 8-3 in Islanders last 11 as a home favorite
- Penguins are 7-2 last 9 meetings
- Over is 5-1 last 6 head to head in New York
Free Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders NHL Prediction:
Do you simply ride the home ice success of the Islanders in this one or does Pittsburgh start to flex their muscles as the 1st place team in the East? Both teams are absolutely firing on command, with 83 shots in each of the first two.
So which goaltender snaps first facing that firing squad? Jarry has been in net both games for Pittsburgh, and with the Islanders flip-flopping goaltenders they may find themselves a little more out of rhythm.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Penguins -105
The Islanders were great at home this year even without being at full capacity, but they’ll miss the other 40%-ish of their fans in a huge playoff game.
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