New York Islanders vs Florida Panthers Predictions, NHL Picks, Betting Tips 8/7/2020

Game: New York Islanders vs Florida Panthers

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Islanders (-120) Panthers (-102)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers (35-26-8, 4th in the Atlantic Division) host the New York Islanders (35-23-10, 6th in the Metropolitan Division) at Scotiabank Arena on Friday, August 7, 2020. New York leads the series 2-1. The line on this game has the Islanders coming in at -120 and the Panthers are at -102. The O/U opens at 5.5. The Islanders are covering 49.2% of the time, having gone 32-33 SU. The Panthers are covering 48.5% of the time, going 32-34 straight up.

The New York Islanders come into this matchup with a record of 35 victories and 23 defeats, which puts them at 6th in the Metropolitan Division. Thus far in the season, they have earned a total of 189 goals which ranks them 13th in the East and 24th in the league. Their goal differential is -1, which puts them at 19th in the league. The Islanders currently have a total of 80 pts, which ranks them 14th in the league and 9th in the Eastern Conference. When looking at shots toward the net, they currently have a total of 2,016 which ranks them 15th in the Eastern Conference and 30th in the league. As a team, New York has earned a total of 1,839 hits which means they have an average of 27 per game. They currently have a total of 980 blocks for the season. Protecting the net for New York is Semyon Varlamov from Kuybyshev, USSR. He is 31 years old and has played a total of 2,517 minutes defending the net for the year. Varlamov is conceding an average of 2.62 goals per contest which puts him at 11th among East goaltenders and 18th in the NHL. During this year, he's surrendered 110 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .914 which puts him at 12th among East goaltenders.

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The Islanders will need a bounce back game after taking a 3 - 2 defeat to the Panthers in Game 3. The Islanders had a below average offensive performance in this defeat. In the game, they converted 2 out of the 22 shots they put on goal. They also had 3 power play attempts but weren't able to score. New York racked up 10 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Islanders was 47 and the Corsi against was 30 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 61.0%. Their Fenwick was 35 while the Fenwick against sat at 22, which earned them a rate of 61.4%. They earned 18 face-off wins and lost 21 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them came in at 77.9% and they had a PDO at even strength of 100.9 in this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Florida Panthers put up 22 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty mins and they earned 5 power play attempts.

The Panthers will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the campaign they sit with 35 victories and 26 defeats. When looking at goal differential, they are ranked 9th in the conference and 16th in the NHL with +4. They currently have a total of 228 goals for this season which is 5th in the conference. Florida has a save percentage as a team of .899 which currently has them ranked 26th in the NHL, which means scoring chances could be plentiful if they attack the goal. They are shooting 10.1% which is good for 7th in the East. In goal for Florida is Sergei Bobrovsky who is having a tough campaign by surrendering 3.23 GAA and that has him ranked 30th among East goalies and 60th in the NHL. In the 2,806 minutes he has played this season, he has surrendered 151 goals. He's earned a save % of .900, which ranks him 26th among East goalies and 54th in the NHL.

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In Game 3 Florida had a 39.0% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 30 while they surrendered a Corsi of 47. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 38.6% by way of having a Fenwick of 22 and the Islanders having earned a 35 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Florida played and it tells us they had an average game overall. Their PDO was 99.1 and their oZS percentage was 22.6%. The Panthers converted 3 goals out of the 22 shots on goal they tried. They had 5 power play chances in this outing and were able to net 2 out of those tries. Regarding their opponent, the Islanders had 3 power play opportunities but didn't tally a goal. Florida conceded 22 shots on goal and the Islanders ended up with 10 penalty minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New York (-120)

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