Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The New York Islanders are fighting for a playoff spot, but their chances have been severely hampered by a string of recent defeats and player injuries. On the other hand, the Nashville Predators have almost lost all hope of making the Western Conference playoffs, and the remainder of their season has become more of a formality.
New York Islanders
The situation for the Islanders is critical—four losses in their last five games and 20 goals conceded during this stretch. The absence of their starting goalkeeper, Semyon Varlamov, has been a significant factor, with Ilya Sorokin managing to stop only 82.6% of shots over the same period. However, the Islanders have faced top teams like the Winnipeg Jets (3:4) and the Dallas Stars (3:4), where their offensive game didn’t look as bad. At home, however, their form is much better, having won six of their last eight matches. It's also worth noting that the Islanders have been involved in high-scoring games, with five out of their last seven matches hitting over 5.5 goals.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have accepted the reality of a poor season, but they still manage to occasionally play some decent hockey. They defeated Western Conference leaders, the Winnipeg Jets (2:1), and comfortably beat the Buffalo Sabres (6:4). However the Predators have lost 8 of their last 11 games, conceding 41 goals during this stretch. Their away form is even worse—just six wins in 28 games, and in their last six road matches, they've conceded an average of 4.7 goals per game, with five of those games going over 5.5 total goals.
New York Islanders vs Nashville Predators Prediction
Both teams have been struggling recently, but they are capable of producing exciting and high-scoring games. With neither the Islanders nor the Predators known for their solid defences, and given the tendency for games between them to feature plenty of goals, we're going to back the total to go over 5.5.
