New York Islanders at Vegas Golden Knights NHL Picks & Predictions 12/20/2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

T-Mobile Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders head to T-Mobile Arena to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Islanders at +150 and the Golden Knights at -185.

New York has a record of 17-12-4 this year. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 96 goals and surrendered 93 goals for a point differential of +3. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-16-0 and an over/under record of 12-18-0. Vegas has a record of 19-15-2 this season. They are 4th in the Pacific Division. They have scored 107 goals and given up 102 for a goal differential of +5. Their record against the spread is 19-17-0 while their over/under mark is 17-18-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 16-16-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 12-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 19-17-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 17-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/18/18 D Thomas Hickey Upper Body is questionable Thursday vs Vegas
10/04/18 C John Stevens Undisclosed is out indefinitely
10/04/18 RW Matt Lorito Undisclosed is out indefinitely
10/01/18 LW Andrew Ladd Undisclosed is out indefinitely

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/18/18 LW Max Pacioretty Undisclosed is questionable Thursday vs NY Islanders
11/07/18 LW Erik Haula Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Anders Lee has scored 25 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 12 goals this season with 93 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 17.5 minutes played per contest. Josh Bailey averages 17.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 7 goals on 58 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 27 points on the year. Thomas Greiss has 12 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Islanders. He has 578 shots against him and he's surrendered 47 goals. He's made 531 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jon Marchessault has 27 total points this season for the Golden Knights. He has 12 goals this year with 130 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 15 assists on the year and averages 19.1 minutes played per contest. William Karlsson averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 13 goals on 75 attempts. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the year. Marc-Andre Fleury has 19 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Golden Knights. He has 850 shots against him and he's given up 79 goals. He's made 771 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 38 total points this year, which is 16th in the NHL. They've scored 96 goals while giving up 93 scores, which has them ranked 24th and 27th respectively. They have had 103 power play chances and scored 16 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 24th in the league. The Islanders have given up 102 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 20th when short-handed. They average 28 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.36% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 7th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Golden Knights are 12th in the league with a total of 40 points this season. They have 24 power play goals on 115 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 15th in the NHL. They've given up 107 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 5th overall. As a team, the Golden Knights are 15th with a total of 107 goals scored while they've given up 102 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.22%. As a unit they give up 28 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 20th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 25th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.8%, as they've attempted 1,701 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,933 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47% as they have 1,259 attempts while they have given up 1,422 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 26th in the league. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 48% of the time, which is 28th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52% for the season. That is 4th overall in the NHL. They have 881 face-off wins compared to 978 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.4%. That ranks them 29th in the league. On defense New York has 852 hits and they have blocked 51 shots from the opposition, putting them 31st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Golden Knights are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,034 face-off wins compared to 1,117 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Vegas has 975 hits and they have blocked 470 shots from the opposition, which is 20th in the league. Vegas is 3rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 54.7% as they've attempted 2,262 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,871 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.9% ranks 3rd as they have 1,638 attempts while they have given up 1,401 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Islanders/Golden Knights NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take New York +150

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