Bet on Lightning Rebound Against Roy’s Islanders

· Feb 08 - 4 minutes read

The New York Islanders will be the favorite at home on Thursday night against the wounded Tampa Bay Lightning, but it is not an easy game to slide into your NHL spread picks.

The Islanders are 2-2-1 since Patrick Roy took over as coach after they received a late goal from Pierre Engvall to beat Toronto 3-2 on Monday. New York is currently sitting four points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Bet on Lightning Rebound Against Roy’s Islanders

The Lightning had won eight of nine games before the All-Star break but fell 3-1 at the New York Rangers on Wednesday to open a four-game trip. Tampa Bay also lost standout defenseman Mikhail Sergachev for an extended period with a leg injury in the game.

Cooper on Sergachev: “In the end, you’ve got your biological family, but these are the people you spend pretty much your whole life with. It goes beyond hockey. He’s a really tough kid and there were emotions coming out. You care for the guys. It was clear the Rangers cared for…

— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) February 8, 2024

The Lightning are +1200 to win the East and reach the Stanley Cup finals for the fourth time in five years while the Islanders are +3000 in Las Vegas hockey odds.

Lightning vs Islanders Game Information

Game: Lightning (27-19-5) vs Islanders (21-17-12)
Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, N.Y.
Day/Time: Thursday, Feb. 8, 8:00 p.m. ET
Lightning vs Islanders Live Streaming: NHL.com

The Islanders are the favorite in our odds for NHL action on Thursday night against the injury-hampered Lightning. New York beat Tampa Bay 6-1 at home last April after the Lightning had won the six previous meetings. The Islanders have points in 19 of 25 home games (12-6-7) and the Lightning have struggled on the road (10-14-2).

The teams will meet this Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8:00 pm ET in UBS Arena. You can stream the game on NHL.com.

Lightning vs Islanders Spreads and Odds

Betting Odds Calculator

Lightning vs Islanders Trends

The Islanders are just 8-for-14 on the penalty kill the last four games and the Lightning lead the league in power-play percentage (29.8)
The under is 4-1 in the last five games for the Islanders, but 20-27-3 on the season at the sportsbook.
Tampa Bay is 23-28 ATS on the season, but 6-2 in the last eight outings.
New York defenseman Noah Dobson has registered nine assists in his last six contests.
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov leads the league with 86 points, including 11 during his current five-game streak.
The over is 9-2 in the Islanders’ last 11 games against Atlantic Division foes.
Tampa Bay is 1-6 in its last seven games as an underdog of +110 between +150..
The under is 4-0-1, according to our NHL lines, in New York’s last five contests against a team with a winning straight-up record.

Lightning vs Islanders Over/Under Pick: Under 6 ½ (-115)

Both teams need this game badly, so you can expect a tight-checking contest. Vasilevskiy may play back-to-back and face Ilya Sorokin, but backup Jonas Johansson (10-6-5) has played well for the Lightning.

Lightning vs Islanders ATS Pick: Lightning +1 ½ (-200)

The Islanders have played with more spirit under Roy, but the Lightning performed well at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday and went 8-1 before that without Sergachev.

Lightning vs Islanders Moneyline Pick: Lightning (+120)

This is an emotion pick. Tampa Bay is pretty good on the second of back-to-backs in the last few seasons and won’t have to travel far for this one. The only worry is all the minutes Kucherov and other top players logged 24 hours earlier.