The New York Islanders (11-6-0), one of the league’s weakest power play offenses, are on the road to take on the Nashville Predators (7-8-1) and their suffocating penalty killing defense at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday. New York is coming off a 4-2 win over the Senators on Monday. The Islanders committed six penalties in the game, conceding one power play goal.
Four players found the net for the Islanders. Noah Dobson scored and provided an assist to share the scoring lead with Mathew Barzal, who had two assists. Semyon Varlamov saved an impressive 36 of 38 shots (.947%) in the win.Nashville beat the Wild 2-1 on Tuesday.
Matt Duchene and Nino Niederreiter each scored once for the Predators. Duchene added an assist to share the scoring lead with Ryan Johansen, who had two assists. Juuse Saros was impressive in the win, making 32 saves (.969%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Predators won both games between the teams last season, including a 4-3 victory in their final meeting in December, their seventh straight win against New York.
Johansen (1G 1A), Colton Sissons (1G 1A), and Tanner Jeannot (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Nashville. Oliver Wahlstrom led New York with two points (0G 2A). David Rittich got the win despite allowing three goals on 21 shots (.857%).
FACING OFF
New York is averaging 3.35 goals per game for the season, 12th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Predators team that is allowing 3.19 goals a game (17th).
Meanwhile, Nashville has found the net 2.56 times a game on average, 29th in the league, and won’t find goals any easier to come by against the Islanders’ stout defense, which is holding opponents to 2.53 goals per game (5th).
Nashville averages fewer shots/game (29.1) than most teams in the league, ranking 28th, while the team’s 9.0% shooting percentage is 25th. New York has been up to the task of stopping shots, ranking No. 2 with a team save percentage of .928%.
The Predators’ 29th-ranked power play offense (14.75%) will be put to the test against the Islanders, who are the league’s fourth-best penalty killing team (84.48%).
New York, meanwhile, has scored on 20.00% of their power play opportunities (18th), which the visitors will be aiming to add to against Nashville’s sixth-ranked 83.33% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 18 points each this season, Brock Nelson (9G 9A) and Barzal (0G 18A) are the top skaters for the Islanders. Barzal is among the league leaders in assists (3rd).
In the net, Ilya Sorokin (7-4-0) is New York’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.17 GAA, fourth-best in the league, and a .932% save percentage, fifth-best. Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 15 points.
He has five goals and 10 assists. Kevin Lankinen (2-2-0) has the best goals against average for Nashville at 2.60. He has a save percentage of .921%. Saros (4-6-1) has played the most games in net for the Predators this season. He has a 3.22 GAA and a .901% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
New York is 5-3-0 away from home this season. Nashville is 4-3-1 at Bridgestone Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
NY Islanders (+100)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
