Over the past few years, the Metropolitan Division has been arguably the best in the NHL. After all, the last 3 Stanley Cup champions have come from that division, with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning it twice before surrendering the cup to the Washington Capitals last year. The Capitals got off to a slow start this season, but they are once again back on top of the division, albeit in a race that is proving to be incredibly tight.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are down in the #5 spot in the division right now, but they are just 7 points out of the lead. Given how streaky things can be over the course of an 82-game season and how many games we still have left to play, 7 points really isn’t an insurmountable lead. The Penguins will start their week with a trip to the Big Apple to play their division rivals, the New York Islanders, who are in the #3 spot, just 1 point ahead of Pittsburgh. The Penguins are favored by 1 ½ here, with the total set at 6 ½ goals.
This team is at it’s best when they are playing good defensive hockey, which they tend to do on home ice, where they are 7-4-2 right now. Given all of that, it is perhaps no real surprise that 6 of the last 7 meetings between these two in Brooklyn have gone UNDER.
Penguins vs Islanders NHL Betting Preview & Pick
Anders Lee and Scott Mayfield are both in the lineup after taking maintenance days on Sunday. #PITvsNYI game day updates: https://t.co/XG9Q4ZiCqi
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) 10 de diciembre de 2018
- When: Monday, December 10 at 9 PM EST
- Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn
- TV: NHL Network
- Radio: TuneIn
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Betting Odds: Pittsburgh Penguins -1.5 (Total 6.5)
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – December 10th Edition
Why bet on the Pittsburgh Penguins?
This will be the second game for the Penguins on their current road trip, an away trek that got off to a bad start with a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. That was certainly a low output for a team that is averaging 3.43 GPG, which is good enough to land them in the top 10 in scoring. This will also be the second meeting with the Islanders in a matter of days, with the Penguins getting the best of the last one, winning 6-2 on home ice. Despite that win, the Penguins are still just 1-2 versus the Islanders this season, so this is certainly not an easy game for them. It’s obvious that the Penguins are not happy with their current standings, as they have swung a couple of deals in the past week to try and shake things up. They certainly need to do something, as a 5-3-2 record in their last 10 is not really good enough for this group.Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.43
- Shots: 32.64
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.36
- Goals: 3.25
- Shots: 32.11
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.07
Why bet on the New York Islanders?
The last thing the Islanders want to do in this one is get sucked into a wide-open shootout type of game with Pittsburgh. As of now, the Islanders are 20th in offense, averaging 2.89 GPG. It really has been a little bit of smoke and mirrors for this group, as they have managed to amass 31 points despite not being offensively gifted, and also while sitting in the lower half of the standings in special teams.
This team is at it’s best when they are playing good defensive hockey, which they tend to do on home ice, where they are 7-4-2 right now. Given all of that, it is perhaps no real surprise that 6 of the last 7 meetings between these two in Brooklyn have gone UNDER.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.93
- Shots: 27.57
- PP/PK Percentage: 15.12
- Goals: 2.96
- Shots: 31.96
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.73
Penguins vs Islanders NHL Betting Trends
- Pittsburgh is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Pittsburgh is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
- NY Islanders is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
- NY Islanders is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders’s last 7 games
