by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Dec 02, 2022
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: UBS Arena, Long Island, NY
Where to watch: ESPN+/Hulu
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Islanders -150, Predators +130
FanDuel: Islanders -156, Predators +130
BetMGM: Islanders -149, Predators +125
Caesars: Islanders -155, Predators +130
Season record
Predators: 10-9-2
Islanders: 15-9-0
Two months into the NHL season, and man, what action we’ve had. So much parity, so many good teams through the first 10-plus games, you have every right to be excited! It’s still a three-team race between Vegas, Boston and New Jersey. But this is a good time to be playing these hockey games, as well. Look no further than our own Doc's Sports on a 14-7-0 run over the first 30 days of the NHL season. There's also ASA, Inc. posting a 12-5-1 mark through the first month. You know you can trust our champion handicappers to get you across the finish line with your NHL bets. Check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to see what we're throwing down!
Predators - Islanders preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Predators: won 2-1 (OT) vs. Ducks
Islanders: lost 3-1 at Flyers
Predators analysis
The Nashville Predators haven’t been the greatest of teams to start the year, but they are coming off an incredible 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. With Nashville playing the second game of a back-to-back and using Juuse Saros to knock off the second best team in the Eastern Conference, the Predators will be turning to Kevin Lankinen for this one on Long Island.
Ryan Johansen scored his second goal of the game 33 seconds into OT to knock off New Jersey. Those two gave him seven goals on the year and nowhere near the top of the team numbers that Filip Forsberg and others have put up. But it helps to get that chance when Mikael Granlund scores with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, followed by Johansen’s goal to end it.
“We had a really big penalty kill at the end, then made a really good play to get our shot," Granlund said. "That was a good job by us getting two points. We want to be a top team. Tonight was a good step.”
To get to that spot, Nashville is tied for fourth in the Central with the Minnesota Wild and have a little ways to go to catch up to the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets and defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. They could benefit from getting more consistent play from Juuse Saros with his GAA approaching 3 and his save percentage now under .910.
Clearly they have an offense that can score an abundance of goals. How they find that consistency along with solid goaltending is the next step for John Hynes.
Islanders analysis
The New York Islanders may have the combination that propels them as a darkhorse in the Eastern Conference. But after a string of wins, New York is coming off a 3-1 loss in a home-and-home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
I was dead wrong about that game just because it was the case of the better team facing the worse team. But I should’ve known that a home-and-home, with the underdog at home, could lead to some trouble for the road team, and that’s exactly what happened.
“They played a good game,” Noah Dobson said. “We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be.”
Nevertheless, the Islanders are still a juggernaut defensively giving up 2.58 goals per game while posting 3.25. That’s a large contrast in facing the Predators giving up 2.86 but scoring just 2.48. And it’s not like the shot discrepancy is much different. New York just has the ideal situation with Mat Barzal dominating in the assist category and Brock Nelson scoring all the goals. Seriously, Barzal has 24 assists this year. It’s nuts.
Prediction
I don’t think I’ll be wrong about the Islanders this time around. I can trust them to beat a team that’s coming into their barn after playing 24 hours prior and get better goaltending across the board. That’s what I’m looking for. Islanders win 3-1
Betting trends
Islanders are 105-143 at home revenging a road loss to an opponent since 1996.
Islanders are 34-15 at home after a division game the last 3 years.
Islanders are 9-1 off an under this season.
Projected lines
Predators:
Filip Forsberg -- Juuso Parssinen -- Mikael Granlund
Tanner Jeannot -- Colton Sissons -- Matt Duchene
Cole Smith -- Ryan Johansen -- Nino Niederreiter
Yakov Trenin -- Cody Glass -- Mark Jankowski
Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi
Mattias Ekholm -- Alexandre Carrier
Jeremy Lauzon -- Dante Fabbro
Kevin Lankinen
Islanders:
Josh Bailey -- Mathew Barzal -- Oliver Wahlstrom
Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier
Zach Parise -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Ross Johnston
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho -- Noah Dobson
Alexander Romanov -- Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
Statistical leaders
Predators:
Points: Filip Forsberg – 20
Goals: Nino Niederreiter – 9
Assists: Mikael Granlund – 17
Goalie: Juuse Saros – 9-6-2, 2.92 GAA, .909 SV%
Islanders:
Points: Mathew Barzal – 26
Goals: Brock Nelson – 11
Assists: Mathew Barzal – 24
Goalie: Ilya Sorokin – 10-6-0, 2.18 GAA, .933 SV%
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
