The New York Islanders (39-28-9) head to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (44-26-6) at Amalie Arena on Saturday. New York is coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the Capitals on Wednesday. The Islanders committed only one penalty in the game, holding Washington without a power play goal. Pierre Engvall scored the only goal for the Islanders.
Ilya Sorokin saved an impressive 25 of 26 shots (.961%) in the win.Tampa Bay beat the Capitals 5-1 on Thursday. Pat Maroon scored twice to lead the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy was impressive in the win, making 30 saves (.967%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Lightning won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-3 victory in October, their fifth straight win against New York. Brayden Point, Nicholas Paul, and Brandon Hagel each had two points (1G 1A) to lead Tampa Bay. Anthony Beauvillier, Ryan Pulock, and Matt Martin were on the scoresheet for New York. Brian Elliott got the win, saving 32 of 35 shots (.914%).
FACING OFF
New York is averaging 2.96 goals per game for the season, 21st in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 3.01 goals a game (13th).
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.41 times a game on average, seventh in the league, and the Islanders are holding opponents to 2.66 goals per game (4th).
Power play opportunities should be plentiful for the Islanders, as the Lightning have been penalized 4.38 times a game, fourth-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.59 minutes (second-highest). The visitors are averaging 3.46 penalties (27th) and 8.12 penalty minutes a game (23rd).
The Lightning’s 25.10% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Islanders rank 31st with a conversion rate of only 15.94%. When it comes to penalty killing, New York has the league’s 10th-ranked PK% at 82.08%, while Tampa Bay is 15th at 79.92%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 69 points this season, Brock Nelson is the top skater for the Islanders. He has 32 goals and 37 assists in 76 games. In the net, Sorokin (28-19-7) is New York’s top goaltender. He has a 2.36 GAA, fifth-best in the league, and a .924% save percentage, third-best.
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 104 points (3rd in the league). He has 28 goals and 76 assists (2nd). Vasilevskiy (33-20-4) is the top goalie for Tampa Bay with a goals against average of 2.61. He has a save percentage of .916%.
HOME AND AWAY
New York is 17-15-6 away from UBS Arena this season. Tampa Bay is 26-7-5 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-160)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
