by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Where to watch: TVAS, SN1, MSGSN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Senators -120, Islanders +100
FanDuel: Senators -125, Islanders +104
BetMGM: Senators -120, Islanders +100
Caesars: Senators -125, Islanders +105
Season record
Islanders: 23-21-5
Senators: 20-23-3
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Islanders - Senators preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Islanders: lost 5-2 at Maple Leafs
Senators: lost 5-1 vs. Jets
The New York Islanders will be playing the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, January 25 in Ottawa.
The New York Islanders lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday, January 23 in Toronto with a score of 5-2. The New York Islanders currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division. Anders Lee scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for the Islanders.
"Situational awareness, individual awareness, that's it," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "Three of their goals, penalty kill goal, bad change, [then) a couple guys getting in behind us. Can't happen. It's unacceptable.
"I thought our first period was our best period we've played certainly this month or one of them anyway and for whatever reason, our details and our awareness cost us tonight."
Lee gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 19:37 of the first period on a rebound in the goal crease.
Lee put the Islanders back in front 2-1 at 6:18 on a one-timer from Kyle Palmieri, who returned after missing 27 of the previous 28 games with an upper-body injury.
"We know we have to string a couple together and get the locker room feeling better and get the ball rolling in the right direction, so we're just going to keep going at it," Palmieri said. "The start was good, but [we had] some breakdowns and that's a high-powered offense over there that can finish their chances, and that was the difference."
The New York Islanders have won one of their last 10 games.
The Ottawa Senators lost against the Winnipeg Jets last Saturday, January 21 in Ottawa with a score of 5-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division. Josh Norris scored for the Senators and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves.
"We're going to shuffle the top nine," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "I mean, there's guys that are minus every night, and it just can't continue. That's on me for allowing them to keep playing together or certain guys to play together, and if you're getting scored on, it's not working. So we're going to work on every line, and we're going to grind our way out of this."
Winnipeg took the lead at 6:58 and Norris tied it 1-1 at 11:12 with a quick shot off a face-off win by Claude Giroux. It was his first goal in three games since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss 38 games.
"We definitely know we can play better," Giroux said. "I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened tonight, and we had some times during the game where we played good and sometimes we didn't and they came back at us."
"It's not good," Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "No one's happy right now, but, I mean, it's the game of hockey and they were the better team tonight, and that's it."
Winnipeg was 2-for-8 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
"Undisciplined," Smith said. "You can't give them [eight] power plays. When you do that on a back to back, you're using all your guys and you're getting guys out of rhythm. That's a real good team, one of the best teams in the League, one of the best teams we've played, and we gave them [eight] power plays."
The Ottawa Senators have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Whatever good vibes happened with the Islanders have quickly gone away in a big way. They can't be trusted right now, and that means poor Ilya Sorokin. Now he's likely to face an Ottawa team that is capable of erupting for five goals at any occasion. Senators 5, Islanders 2
The New York Islanders will be playing the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, January 25 in Ottawa.
The New York Islanders lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday, January 23 in Toronto with a score of 5-2. The New York Islanders currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division. Anders Lee scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for the Islanders.
"Situational awareness, individual awareness, that's it," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "Three of their goals, penalty kill goal, bad change, [then) a couple guys getting in behind us. Can't happen. It's unacceptable.
"I thought our first period was our best period we've played certainly this month or one of them anyway and for whatever reason, our details and our awareness cost us tonight."
Lee gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 19:37 of the first period on a rebound in the goal crease.
Lee put the Islanders back in front 2-1 at 6:18 on a one-timer from Kyle Palmieri, who returned after missing 27 of the previous 28 games with an upper-body injury.
"We know we have to string a couple together and get the locker room feeling better and get the ball rolling in the right direction, so we're just going to keep going at it," Palmieri said. "The start was good, but [we had] some breakdowns and that's a high-powered offense over there that can finish their chances, and that was the difference."
The New York Islanders have won one of their last 10 games.
The Ottawa Senators lost against the Winnipeg Jets last Saturday, January 21 in Ottawa with a score of 5-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division. Josh Norris scored for the Senators and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves.
"We're going to shuffle the top nine," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "I mean, there's guys that are minus every night, and it just can't continue. That's on me for allowing them to keep playing together or certain guys to play together, and if you're getting scored on, it's not working. So we're going to work on every line, and we're going to grind our way out of this."
Winnipeg took the lead at 6:58 and Norris tied it 1-1 at 11:12 with a quick shot off a face-off win by Claude Giroux. It was his first goal in three games since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss 38 games.
"We definitely know we can play better," Giroux said. "I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened tonight, and we had some times during the game where we played good and sometimes we didn't and they came back at us."
"It's not good," Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "No one's happy right now, but, I mean, it's the game of hockey and they were the better team tonight, and that's it."
Winnipeg was 2-for-8 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
"Undisciplined," Smith said. "You can't give them [eight] power plays. When you do that on a back to back, you're using all your guys and you're getting guys out of rhythm. That's a real good team, one of the best teams in the League, one of the best teams we've played, and we gave them [eight] power plays."
The Ottawa Senators have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Whatever good vibes happened with the Islanders have quickly gone away in a big way. They can't be trusted right now, and that means poor Ilya Sorokin. Now he's likely to face an Ottawa team that is capable of erupting for five goals at any occasion. Senators 5, Islanders 2
Betting trends
Favorite is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
The Islanders have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
The Islanders have won six of the last seven in Ottawa.
Senators are 1-5 in the last six following a loss of 3 goals or more.
Favorite is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
The Islanders have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
The Islanders have won six of the last seven in Ottawa.
Senators are 1-5 in the last six following a loss of 3 goals or more.
Projected lines
Islanders:
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Casey Cizikas
Josh Bailey -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier
Zach Parise -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin -- Aatu Raty -- Ross Johnston
Parker Wotherspoon -- Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov -- Scott Mayfield
Sebastian Aho -- Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Casey Cizikas
Josh Bailey -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier
Zach Parise -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin -- Aatu Raty -- Ross Johnston
Parker Wotherspoon -- Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov -- Scott Mayfield
Sebastian Aho -- Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Senators:
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Alex DeBrincat -- Josh Norris -- Claude Giroux
Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Mathieu Joseph
Parker Kelly -- Mark Kastelic -- Austin Watson
Thomas Chabot -- Jacob Bernard-Docker
Jake Sanderson -- Travis Hamonic
Nick Holden -- Erik Brannstrom
Cam Talbot
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Alex DeBrincat -- Josh Norris -- Claude Giroux
Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Mathieu Joseph
Parker Kelly -- Mark Kastelic -- Austin Watson
Thomas Chabot -- Jacob Bernard-Docker
Jake Sanderson -- Travis Hamonic
Nick Holden -- Erik Brannstrom
Cam Talbot
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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.
