Following a good start to the season, the New York Islanders (5-4-2) have suffered back-to-back defeats and they will now try to bounce back in a tough road outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7-3-3) on Monday.
Bookmaker BetOnline has the odds at +117 for an Isles victory while you can back the Bolts with the odds at -129. The goals total is set at 5.50 and the odds are at -131 for the under and at +119 for the over.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 14th, 8:00 P.M. (EST)
The Islanders were riding a nice seven-game point streak before they were taken down by Minnesota 5-2 and a 4-0 loss against New Jersey followed soon after. Ilya Sorokin has frustrated opponents with three shutouts this season, but the Islanders suddenly got neutralized and will need to sharpen up their offense again if they want to have a chance against the defending champions.
Tampa heads into the clash on a high. They have produced a seven-game point streak of their own with a 5-0-2 record even with Nikita Kucherov missing again. The former league MVP didn’t feature at all during the regular season last term and could now be out until 2022.
The Lightning still boasts a potent offense without Kucherov averaging exactly three goals a night. Jon Cooper’s men have been pretty goal-shy in recent outings, but they can lean on star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in tight affairs and the 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner rarely disappoints. He’s suffered only two regulation defeats this season and boasts a 2.31 goals-against average with a .921 save percentage.
Tampa has won six of the last eight home games against the Islanders and there have been 20 Bolts victories in the last 29 meetings overall. This matchup doesn’t seem to suit the Islanders at all and they are even in a tougher spot this time around as the team is in the middle of a huge road trip.
The Islanders are forced to play all of their first 13 games of the season on the road due to their new home, the UBS Arena, not being ready yet. It’s the second-longest road trip in league history, and the recent results could be a sign that all the traveling has taken a toll on the team and they simply don’t feel fresh enough anymore to produce good performances.
