Though we are just one month into the NHL season, it looks unlikely that a pair of Metropolitan Division rivals in the Islanders and Penguins will be able to secure anything but a wild-card berth. The divisional seeds appear destined to be scooped up by some combination of the Rangers , Hurricanes, Devils and Capitals based on their strong starts. These Islanders and Penguins enter Tuesday night’s matchup at UBS Arena with nearly identical win percentages but have arrived at those records in entirely different fashions.
Islanders vs. Penguins odds The Penguins feature plenty of offensive firepower but have been one of the league’s worst defensive sides, allowing 3.77 goals per game this season and 3.
68 expected goals per 60 minutes. The Islanders are at the other end of the spectrum. They have been a solid defensive side, but they have scored only 2.
25 goals per game and have already been shut out on four occasions. As if scoring hadn’t been enough of a challenge for coach Patrick Roy’s squad, it is now battling through the loss of top forward Mathew Barzal and defender Adam Pelech . Most of the Penguins’ most concerning defensive performances have come against some of the league’s best offenses.
Their last two games have come against two of the league’s worst offenses — the Canadiens and Ducks — and they have cleaned things up, allowing only three goals. They own a 63.86% expected goal share in those two games and allowed just 24.
34 shots against per 60. Be.
