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Islanders vs. Penguins Prediction and Odds (Pitt has the Perfect Opponent to Get Themselves Back on Track)

By Matt De Saro

Pittsburgh Penguins v Arizona Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins v Arizona Coyotes / Christian Petersen/GettyImages
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The race toward the NHL Playoffs is heating up across the league. That is for most teams at least. The lowly New York Islanders are not among those teams despite not mathematically being eliminated. However, they trail the Penguins by 18 points with just seven games left in the regular season. Basically, the Isles have to win out and the Penguins, and the fourth-place Capitals, have to completely collapse. 

While I don’t see any world in which that happens, the Penguins have been playing like garbage lately. Pittsburgh is just 3-8 in their last 11 games and is in real danger of falling into fourth place behind the Caps. However, this is a great spot for the Penguins to begin to turn things around before it’s too late. 

Here are the odds for tonight’s matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Islanders vs. Penguins Odds and Total

Moneyline:

  • Islanders +140
  • Penguins -160

Puck line:

  • Islanders +1.5 (-190)
  • Penguins -1.5 (+155)

Total:

  • 5.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Islanders vs. Penguins Prediction and Pick

This is a tough game to make a call on. On one hand, we have a team that is terrible but playing quite well over the last couple of weeks. The Islanders are 6-2 in their last eight games as their desperation to remain afloat hits max level. On the other hand, we have a good team playing poorly for an extended period of time. 

Despite all of this, I think it's a fine time for the Isles to regress back to the weak team that they are. New York has been playing well over their heads and I don’t believe that level of success is sustainable for a team of this skill. On the flip side, the Penguins are playing well below their level of skill and are prime candidates to break out of their funk soon. They have too good of a team to continue losing. Tonight is as good a night as any to break their streak of bad games and cash a puck line play for us on the home team. 

Pick: Penguins -1.5 (+155)

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE

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