Islanders vs Lightning Predictions, Picks, Betting Tips 2/8/2020

Game: New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020

Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: MS+2/SunS

Odds/Point Spread: Islanders (+175) Lightning (-195)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Amalie Arena is the site where Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning (34-15-5, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) will play the New York Islanders (31-15-6, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division) on Saturday. The Lightning open this game at -195 while the Islanders are coming in at +175. The over/under has been set at 6. The Islanders cover 57.1% of the time, having gone 28-21 SU. Tampa Bay is covering 61.5% of the time, going 32-20 straight up.

The New York Islanders step onto the ice holding a record of 31 victories and 15 losses, ranking them 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have converted a total of 152 goals which ranks 12th in the conference and 22nd in the NHL. Their goal differential is +12, ranking them 10th in the NHL. The Islanders have a total of 68 pts, which ranks 6th in the NHL and 5th in the East. Regarding shots at the opposition, they have a total of 1,544 which ranks 15th in the conference and 30th in the NHL. As a group, New York has collected a total of 1,437 hits which means they are averaging 27.6 per contest. They have a total of 761 blocks for the year. Protecting the goal for New York is Semyon Varlamov from Kuybyshev, USSR. He is 31 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,779 mins defending the goal for the year. Varlamov is giving up an average of 2.60 goals against average which has him placed 11th among Eastern Conference goalies and 17th in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this season, he has given up 77 goals. He has a save percentage of .915 which has him placed 10th among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The New York Islanders came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 5 - 3 win over the Los Angeles Kings in their last game. The Islanders had a good offensive outing and it showed in the win. For this matchup, they scored on 5 out of the 33 shots they looked to score on. In addition, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to score. New York racked up a total of 11 penalty mins in this outing. The Corsi for the Islanders sat at 53 and the Corsi against was 57 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 48.2%. Their Fenwick sat at 40 and the Fenwick against was 37, which means they had a Fenwick percentage of 51.9%. They earned 27 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 21 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 46.4% and they had a PDO at even strength of 103.1 in this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Los Angeles Kings tallied 25 shots. They finished with a total of 9 minutes in the box and they earned a total of 2 power play attempts.

The Lightning are the team looking to add points to their total and for the current year they have 34 wins and 15 defeats. When discussing goal differential, they are ranked 2nd in the conference and 2nd in the NHL with +45. They have compiled a total of 194 goals for the year which is good for 1st in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay has a save % as a team of .911 which has them 7th in the NHL, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a shooting percentage of 11.5% which is good for 1st in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy who is having an average season by surrendering 2.52 goals per contest and that places him 9th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 15th in the NHL among goalies. In the 2,406 minutes he's played, he has surrendered 101 goals. He holds a save % of .918, which puts him at 9th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 17th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning opposed the Pittsburgh Penguins in an outing where the Lightning earned a victory by a score of 4 - 2. In this game, Tampa Bay had a 52.3% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 46 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 42. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 52.2% with a Fenwick of 35 and the Penguins having earned a 32 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Tampa Bay played and they showed up in this game. Their PDO at even strength was 108.7 and their oZS percentage was 49.1%. The Lightning notched 4 goals of the 29 shots on goal they attempted. They had 4 power play chances in this one but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. Regarding the opposition, the Penguins had 5 power play chances but weren't able to take advantage of it. Tampa Bay conceded 31 shots on goal and the Penguins racked up 10 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-195)

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