The Barclays Center is the site for an Eastern Conference matchup as the New York Islanders take on the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s the third and final time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. Sportsnet will showcase the matchup, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 22.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders Odds
Tampa Bay enters the contest as the noticeable favorite with a moneyline of -180. The line for New York sits at +160, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
Tampa Bay is 50-23 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 11.9 units this year. 46 of its outings have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just one has pushed. This 2017-18 Lightning team is 23-13 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay currently touts the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s found the net on 24.0 percent of its extra-man chances this year. Its penalty kill is ranked 27th in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off only 76.7 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Tampa Bay has been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, 4.2 per game over its last five total, and 4.0 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 10.2 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
With a .922 save percentage and 29.4 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (41-18-3) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay chooses to rest him, however, head coach Jon Cooper could go with Louis Domingue (6-10 record, .890 save percentage, 3.49 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both lead the way for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov (94 points) has tallied 37 goals and 57 assists, and has recorded two or more points 30 times. Stamkos has 27 goals and 58 assists to his nameand has registered a point in 50 games.
On the other side of the rink, New York is 31-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 44 of its matches have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just three have pushed. This year, the team’s 17-18 SU as the home team.
New York has converted on 21.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for 10th-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York players have been whistled for penalties only 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties a whopping 13.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Jaroslav Halak (29.7 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for New York. Halak has 18 wins, 32 losses, and six overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a mediocre 3.28 goals against average and a poor .906 save percentage this year.
The Isles will be led on offense by Mathew Barzal (20 goals, 55 assists) and John Tavares (32 goals, 43 assists).
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone over in four of New York’s last five games.
Tampa Bay has managed 27.2 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while New York is averaging 35.4 shots per game over its last five at home.
The extra-man advantage could prove to be even more critical than usual in this matchup. The Lightning are 25-12 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-14 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Islanders are 12-22 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 20-32 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Two of Tampa Bay’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 6-2 overall in shootouts this season.
New York is ranked 22nd with 6.4 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher recently, as it has created 7.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 takeaways over its last five.
Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 5.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 19th in the NHL).
Tampa Bay could hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s an impressive 22-9 in one-goal games, while New York is only 12-18 in such games.
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