Two teams that desperately need wins to move out of the bottom of their divisions will try to improve their situations Thursday night in Ottawa when the Senators (6-7-2) host the New York Islanders (4-9-2). Coming into this game, the Islanders have posted three consecutive sports betting losses for bettors with two of those losses coming at home. Across the ice, Ottawa is coming off of a brutal 4-0 road loss to rival Montreal that needless to say failed to cover the NHL betting odds.

Goals have not been in short supply for Islanders games so far in ’08 with games having on average six goals a game in them. This has led to the ‘over’ going 10-5-0 in Islanders games per the closing pro hockey wagering lines. Veteran C Doug Weight has been a favorite of Islanders bettors so far this season, with a team high 13 points (3 G, 10 A) after 15 games. Another veteran, RW Bill Guerin, has also been solid on the season with five goals and five assists.

With G Rick DiPietro still on injured reserve with a knee injury, it has been up to Joey MacDonald to man the net for the Islanders and provide a competent replacement for the highly priced DiPietro. After 11 starts, MacDonald has been serviceable but not spectacular with a 3.04 GAA and a .902 save percentage. However, MacDonald has been responsible for all four NHL wagering wins for the Islanders this season.

LW Dany Heatley is on his way to another fine season with the Senators, leading the team in points with 15 and tied for fifth in goals in the NHL with nine on the year. Captain RW Daniel Alfredsson is also doing his part for Senators gamblers with 14 points through 14 games. Even a defender, Filip Kuba, has gotten in on the scoring action with 14 assists this season, a number which is tops amongst NHL defensemen.

Goaltender Alex Auld has been spectacular between the pipes this year with a 2.08 GAA, a .928 save percentage, and a 5-3-1 pro hockey betting record to add to his name. In Auld’s last five games, the ‘under’ has cashed in every time per the NHL gambling odds, a stat influenced largely by his aforementioned play. For the Senators to rise out of the basement of the Northeast Division, Auld will have to keep up his outstanding play.

NHL betting trends to note for this game are: New York is 4-10 for NHL bettors over its last 14 road games; the Senators are 3-11 in their last 14 home games; and the Islanders have a woeful 7-32-6 record against the Senators in their last 45 meetings.

Current NHL betting lines have the Senators installed as lofty –240 moneyline home favorites in this game with the ‘total’ sitting at 5.5 over -115. You can wager on this game and all the other Thursday night games at BetUS Sportsbook, the only place for online sports betting this 2008-09 hockey season. Sign up and get in on the action today!

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.