New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers - 12/12/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: New York Islanders vs Florida Panthers

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019

Location: BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL

TV: FSFL/MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Islanders (+115) Panthers (-127)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Semyon Varlamov and the New York Islanders (20-7-2, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division) go to BB&T Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Florida Panthers (15-10-5, 3rd in the Atlantic Division). The Panthers open this matchup at -127 while the Islanders are priced at +115. The total has been set at 6. The Islanders cover 66.7% of the time, having gone 18-9 SU. Florida covers 44.4% of the time, going 12-15 straight up.

The New York Islanders head into this game holding a record of 20 wins and 7 defeats, which is good for 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have converted a total of 84 goals which is 13th in the East and 24th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +15, which is good for 6th in the NHL. The Islanders have a total of 42 points, which is 3rd in the NHL and 3rd in the East. With regard to shots at the opposing goalie, they have a total of 818 which is 16th in the Eastern Conference and 31st in the NHL. As a unit, New York has compiled a total of 686 hits which means they are averaging 23.7 per contest. They have a total of 392 blocks for the year. In goal for New York is Semyon Varlamov from Kuybyshev, USSR. He is 31 years old and has played 929 mins minding the net this season. Varlamov is surrendering an average of 2.26 GAA which has him ranking 5th among East goaltenders and 8th among goalies in the NHL. So far this season, he's given up 35 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .926 which has him ranking 4th among East goaltenders.

Related: NHL Totals Betting: Expert Tips and Advice

The New York Islanders had a good night with a 5 - 1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last contest. The Islanders had a impressive offensive performance in this victory. In this game, they earned a goal on 5 of the 24 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 2 power play attempts and were able to notch 1 goal out of those tries. New York earned 10 penalty minutes in their game. The Corsi for the Islanders was 32 and the Corsi against was 48 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 40.0%. Their Fenwick sat at 22 while the Fenwick against sat at 35, which means they earned a Fenwick percentage of 38.6%. They won 15 face-off wins at even strength and lost 20 of the face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 35.0% and they had a PDO of 115.5 for this one. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Tampa Bay Lightning put up 32 shots. They finished with a total of 8 penalty mins and they had 3 power play chances.

The Panthers are the team on the other side of the ice and for the year they have 15 wins and 10 losses. Regarding goal differential, they are ranked 8th in the conference and 15th in the NHL with +5. They have compiled a total of 103 goals for this year which has them ranked at 5th in the East. Florida has a team save percentage of .895 which has them 26th in the NHL, which means there could be plenty of chances to score if they are aggressive. They have a shooting percentage of 10.1% ranking them 7th in the East. In net for Florida is Sergei Bobrovsky who is having a rough season by allowing 3.19 GAA and that places him 22nd among East goalies and 46th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,334 mins he has played, he's allowed 71 goals. He holds a save % of .898, which has him ranked 21st among East goalies and 41st among goalies in the NHL.

Related: How to Turn Hockey Bets into Big Profits

The Florida Panthers faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in an outing where the Panthers ended up losing by a mark of 2 - 1. While out there on the ice, Florida had a 40.3% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 25 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 37. Their Fenwick percentage was 31.1% with a Fenwick of 14 and the Lightning finishing with a 31 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Florida had and it tells us that they didn't have their best game. Their PDO at even strength was 106.8 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 51.4%. The Panthers notched 1 goal out of the 28 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play chances in this one but weren't able to score a goal. In discussing their opponent, the Lightning had 2 power play opportunities but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Florida gave way to 48 shots on goal and the Lightning ended up with 6 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Florida (-127)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here