New York Islanders (29-13-4) vs Washington Capitals (29-13-4)
Game Info: Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 7:00 pm (Nassau Coliseum)
Betting Odds: New York Islanders -115 / Washington Capitals +104 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders meet in NHL action from the Nassau Coliseum on Thursday night.
The Washington Capitals will look to bounce back from a 6-3 loss to the Bruins in their last game. Nicklas Backstrom leads the Capitals in scoring with 47 points including 14 goals and a team-high 33 assists while Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson each have 42 points with Ovechkin logging 24 goals with 18 assists while Carlson has 32 assists. TJ Oshie has 37 points with 16 goals and 21 assists while Tom Wilson and Anthony Mantha each have double-digit goals and assists this season. As a team, Washington is averaging 3.5 goals on 28.7 shots with a 27.6% success rate on the PP while allowing 3 goals on 29.4 shots against with an 83.5% success rate on the PK this season.
The New York Islanders will look to build on a 6-1 win over the Islanders in their last game. Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring with 38 points including 13 goals and a team-high 25 assists while Jordan Eberle has 31 points with 15 goals and 16 assists. Josh Bailey has 20 assists while J-G Pageau has 13 goals with 14 assists. Nick Leddy has a team-high 25 assists and Brock Nelson has a team-high 16 goals this season. As a team, the Islanders are aveaging 2.7 goals on 29.2 shots with a 17.1% success rate on the power play while allowing 2.3 goals on 28 shots against with an 82.1% success rate on the penalty kill this season.
Washington is 0-4 in their last 4 games as an underdog and 13-5 in their last 18 road games while the over is 7-0 in their last 7 games overall. The Islanders are 14-4 in their last 18 games following a win and 19-7 in their last 26 games overall while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite. The home team is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these two teams.
I get the case that could be made either way here and this could easily be the game of the night in the NHL on Thursday. With that said, the home team’s won each of the five meetings so far this season and I could easily see the Islanders making it six here. This is probably a game that’s better to watch rather than bet on though so It’s a lean at best.
Chris’s Pick New York Islanders -115
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg