Carolina Hurricanes (35-25-5) at New York Islanders (35-23-8)
NHL Hockey: Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 1:00 pm (Nassau Coliseum)
The Line: New York Islanders -135 / Carolina Hurricanes +122 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders meet Saturday in NHL action at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Carolina Hurricanes need a win here to snap a four-game losing streak. The Carolina Hurricanes are averaging 3.2 goals per game and are scoring on 21.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with 36 goals, Teuvo Teravainen has 45 assists and Dougie Hamilton has 170 shots on goal. Defensively, the Carolina Hurricanes are allowing 2.9 goals per game and are killing 83 percent of their opponents power plays. Petr Mrazek has allowed 102 goals on 1,066 shots and James Reimer has given up 61 goals on 712 shots. The Carolina Hurricanes have allowed three or more goals in 14 of their last 16 games.
The New York Islanders need a win here to snap a five-game losing streak. The New York Islanders are averaging 2.8 goals per game and are scoring on 17.7 percent of their power play opportunities. Brock Nelson leads New York with 24 goals, Mathew Barzal has 38 assists and Anthony Beauvillier has 127 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Islanders are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 80.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Semyon Varlamov has given up 102 goals on 1,215 shots faced and Thomas Greiss has allowed 70 goals on 810 shots. The New York Islanders have allowed three or more goals in 13 of their last 17 games.
The Hurricanes are 19-7 in their last 26 Saturday games, 6-2 in their last 8 games playing on 1 days rest and 0-4 in their last 4 overall. The Islanders are 5-2 in their last 7 games as a home favorite, 0-4 in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference and 0-5 in their last 5 overall. The over is 4-1 in Hurricanes last 5 Saturday games. The under is 8-3 in Islanders last 11 overall. The Hurricanes are 19-7 in the last 26 meetings in New York and 7-0 in the last 7 meetings.
The Carolina Hurricanes have won each of the last seven meetings against the Islanders, but they've been shaky at best since the trade deadline and aren't a team I'm looking to back on the road. The New York Islanders have clearly had their struggles as well, but they usually get the job done at home when favored and home teams usually have a decent edge in early starts. In a battle between two teams limping toward the finish line, I'll give the advantage to the home team and side with the Islanders and the reasonable price.
Randy’s Pick New York Islanders -135
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds