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Islanders vs. Pittsburgh: NHL Match Prediction
New York will host a game between the Eastern Conference playoff contenders on December 29. Pittsburgh has moved close to the top eight thanks to strong results before the Christmas break. The Islanders have alternated wins and losses this winter, but Anders Lee team suffered a crushing defeat to Buffalo in their last game. Who will get the important points? Find out from our prediction for the game
Command Analysis
New York Islanders
USACurrent form
The Isles are trying hard to cling to a playoff spot in the East, but the competition in the bottom half of the table is very high. New York is in 13th place with 33 points after 35 starts. The Islanders played very poorly in November, but since the beginning of winter they have improved their quality of play and have earned a little more than half of the points in games this winter. Patrick Roy team started their last road trip poorly and first lost to Chicago (3:5) and Carolina (0:4). Before returning home, the Islanders pulled themselves together and beat Toronto in Canada (6:3). After returning home, the hosts suffered a crushing defeat to Buffalo, scoring only one goal in the Blades' goal (1:7).
New York is no longer the conference lowest scoring team, but the Islanders still look pretty lackluster on offense. They've only made 15 shots in their last five games, and their top scorer is only 70th in the league. Anders Lee, as captain, has made a big contribution to the team performance, with 27 assists (13+14).
Semyon Varlamov has fully recovered from his injury, but it is still unclear when the veteran will be able to return to the ice. For now, he is being replaced by Ilya Sorokin, who is not always good at the last line of defense. The Russian made only one shutout and reflected 89.82% of shots, improving this figure over the course of recent weeks.
Disqualifications and injuries
Mike Reilly will not be able to take part in the upcoming meeting.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Islanders are winning 55.7 percent of their faceoffs.
The Islanders are good at this metric and take most of the faceoffs.
- The hosts earn only 5.06 penalty minutes per match.
New York takes very few penalties and plays with extreme discipline.
Pittsburgh Penguins
USACurrent form
Pittsburgh is on the edge of the playoff zone in the Eastern Conference standings. The Penguins have 37 points in 36 games and are just one point behind Ottawa, who are above them, but the Canadians have played two games less. Sidney Crosby team has not been without points in five or six games and had a good last road trip, where they beat Nashville (5:4, OT), but failed to cope with New Jersey (0:3). Before the break, Mike Sullivan charges won a crushing victory over Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania state derby (7:3). Already in the first period, the "Pitmen" scored four goals and calmly brought the matter to the desired result.
The Penguins have not been consistently strong in attack and have scored 15 goals in their last five games. Seven of them have been scored against the Flyers, while in three of the five games the visitors have failed to score more than two goals. Sidney Crosby remains the team leading scorer with 39 points (10+29) in the goal+pass system. Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin have been helping their captain in every possible way, but so far they have only scored 29 goals.
Pittsburgh remains the most conceding team in the conference. On average, the red light behind the Penguins’ net comes on 3.69 times per game, and the club’s goalies cannot find the necessary form. Tristan Jarry has stopped only 88.60% of shots, but he has been on the court a lot lately.
Disqualifications and injuries
Jack St. Ivanović is injured and will not play in New York.
Interesting trends for betting
- Pittsburgh is getting 6.94 penalty minutes per game.
The team has not been particularly disciplined this season and has often been sent off more than three times.
- The Petes are allowing opponents to take 31 shots per game on average.
The visitors play second fiddle and rarely outshoot their opponents.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
The Islanders' last four games have featured high-scoring first periods.
1.70Bet 2nd period: Pittsburgh will score
The Petes have scored in the second period against the Isles in their last eight games.
1.50Tip and bets
The Islanders were routed in their last home game and have looked extremely unconvincing in the second half of December. The New York team is not as reliable in defense as it was at the beginning of the season, and problems with converting chances still remain. Pittsburgh lets in more goals than others, but the visitors have improved their attack and thanks to this, they are back in the fight for a place in the top eight. Not long ago, the teams met each other and the Isles were able to win only in a shootout. We think that the Pens will take revenge for that defeat.
Prediction - Pittsburgh win with Asian handicap (0) for 2.25
Bet on individual total
Pittsburgh consistently scores more than three times per game both at home and away. The Islanders have not demonstrated their former reliability in their half of the court for a long time and often make a lot of mistakes in defense. The home team goalies are far from their best, so we expect at least three accurate shots from the club from Pennsylvania.
We bet on Pittsburgh individual total over 2.5 goals for 1.75
Total Bet
Meetings between the teams are often very bright and productive. In November, the teams scored six goals between them and have only played one low-scoring match since 2021. Pittsburgh should open up the hosts' defense, but we should not forget that Mike Sullivan charges concede more than others themselves. Let play a bet on the total over.
We take the total over 5.5 pucks with a coefficient of 1.68
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