Pittsburgh vs Islanders: Will the Islanders win again in three days?

Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders will play their second game in three days. The first game in New York ended in a shootout victory for the Islanders. Will the Penguins be able to get revenge on home ice? We will select a few options to bet on at once. 

The loss to the Islanders was the 5th consecutive loss for Pittsburgh down the stretch of 6 previous games. Mike Sullivan's team has visibly relaxed after nearly securing a playoff spot. More accurately, they're gaining strength in anticipation of the postseason - now, when results aren't high on the agenda, that's a good time to do so.

Pittsburgh are in a good position in the standings, but the Penguins will still need to play hard in their return game against the Islanders. In case of defeat, the gap between the Islanders, who are still out of the playoff zone, will be reduced to 10 points. In theory, the Islanders can still displace the Penguins from the top eight in the East.

Barry Trotz's team is still in ninth place in the Eastern Conference table. The Islanders haven't been able to catch up in the first half of the season so far. Though if you take the stretch of the last 20 games, for example, the Islanders are 4th in the conference with 13 wins and just 6 losses in regulation time.

The Islanders still have a theoretical chance of making the playoffs, though, and Pittsburgh are not the only team they can overtake. In terms of points lost, the Islanders are 12 points behind Pennsylvania and 13 points behind Washington. The New Yorkers will face the Capitals twice at the very end of the regular season, so it's Washington that looks like the more realistic victim of a potential Islanders' top-kick.

• The score in the 2021/22 season series is 1-1;
• The opponents met in the last playoffs - the Islanders won the 2nd round series in 6 mats;
• The Islanders and Pittsburgh are the 4th and 6th defenses of the season, respectively.

Pittsburgh have had a tough calendar lately, and not particularly strong motivation to get results, so a slump of 8 losses in the team's previous 11 games is understandable.

It's unlikely Pittsburgh will manage to win the upcoming game as well. Simply because the Penguins have the right to make a mistake and the Islanders no longer do. For the Islanders, the playoffs have essentially already begun, and the price for every loss is relegation from the tournament. That's why it's worth playing the visitors, as it seems to be the case here. In addition, there is great doubt that the opponents will hold a second consecutive productive meeting - in terms of defense, both are at the top of the season.

My prediction is that the Islanders will not lose and Total Under 9.5 for 1.88.

• Total Under 5.5 for 1.90;
• X2 and Total Under 6.5 for 2.65.

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