Two teams squaring off for the first time this season, the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders meet at the Barclays Center for an Eastern Conference tilt. The match will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 24, and fans at home can see the game live on Fox SportsNet Florida.
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders Odds
Florida (-115) is currently the favorite over New York (-105) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
New York is 3-4 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.6 units this year. That early-season winning percentage is a slide from what the team managed during last year’s regular season (35-47). Of its seven regular season matches, four have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 1-1 SU at home this season.
The Isles have successfully scored on 20.0 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable drop-off from last season, when they were ranked seventh in the league by scoring on 23.2 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has improved slightly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 73.2 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 31st overall last season) to 73.7 percent this year.
The Islanders, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.4 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed some from last year’s 3.4 penalties per game the team gave up. After serving an average of 7.8 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for a noteworthy 13.6 minutes per outing this year.
With a .925 save percentage and 31.0 saves per game, Robin Lehner (2-2) has been the primary goalkeeper for New York this season. If New York chooses to give him a breather, however, head coach Barry Trotz could roll with Thomas Greiss (2-2-2 record, .918 save percentage, 2.60 goals against average).
Mathew Barzal and Valtteri Filppula will each be offensive focal points for the Islanders. Barzal (seven points) has tallied one goal and six assists while Filppula has four goals and two assists to his name so far in the early stages of the season.
Florida is 1-6 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through seven regular season contests, four of its games have gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and none have pushed. The Panthers are 1-3 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Panthers have scored on 12.9 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 18.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a mark that was just below league average). The team has gone from successfully defending 80.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 15th overall last season) to 66.7 percent in 2018-19.
Florida’s players have been called for penalties 4.0 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.1, which was the sixth-worst mark in the league. After serving an average of 11.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago (second-most in the league), the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 9.6 minutes per matchup this season.
James Reimer (3.91 goals against average and .870 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 17.4 saves per game and has one win, four losses, and one OT loss to his credit.
Vincent Trocheck (three goals, five assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Panthers.
Florida Panthers at New York Islanders Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
Florida has yet to win a game by two or more goals this season.
The Panthers are 1-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 1-4 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
After posting a 3-3 record in games decided by a shootout last year, Florida is off to a 1-2 start in shootouts this season. New York went 3-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
The total has gone under in three of New York’s last five games.
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