Don’t Expect Much Scoring as Islanders Take on Capitals

The New York Islanders (3-2-0) and their struggling offense take on the short-handed Washington Capitals (3-0-3) in the first of a two-game miniseries on Tuesday night. The Islanders have scored just nine goals this season while the Caps are without Alex Ovechkin and others who are on the COVID-19 list.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The game opened with the Islanders favored at -150 and the line has settled in at the -128 to -140 range. The total opened at 5.5 and is locked in at that number with the UNDER as the favorite in the -123 to -130 range.

New York News & Notes

Dating back a few seasons, the Islanders’ tight defensive system has tended to keep them in every game as the score tends to be lower than average. That has been the case this season as there have been five or fewer total goals in each of the Islanders’ first five games.

Unfortunately for the Islanders, the flip side is that goal scoring has been an issue. The Isles have been shut out twice and have just nine total goals on the season. Only five players have scored for the Islanders and their leading scorer is Mathew Barzal, who has four points. Across the league, there are 90 players with more than four points.

In net, starting goalie Semyon Varlamov has had a stellar start to the season. Varlamov is 3-0-0 with an otherworldly .988 save percentage and two shutouts. Highly touted rookie Ilya Sorokin was between the pipes for each of the Islanders’ two losses. Varlamov is likely to get the start on Tuesday.

Washington News & Notes

The Washington Capitals have now played two games without captain Alex Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and starting goalie Ilya Samsonov since they were placed on the COVID-19 list for violating the league’s protocol.

The Caps won one and lost one, both times in a shootout, without their four key players and will play both games against the Islanders without them. Winger Tom Wilson is also questionable for this game as he deals with a lower-body injury.

The good news for the Capitals is their play without the four Russians in the lineup. The Caps had their highest number of scoring chances in a game against Buffalo on Sunday and they did not allow an even-strength goal despite the loss.

In net, rookie goaltender Vitek Vanecek has been thrust into the starting job in Samsonov’s absence and he has performed admirably. Vanecek is 2-0-2 in his four starts with a .912 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average. He is likely to get the start on Tuesday.

Betting Pick: UNDER 5.5