{"id":459554,"date":"2024-12-29T12:22:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T17:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=459554"},"modified":"2024-12-29T12:22:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T17:22:41","slug":"nhl-predictions-december-29th-pittsburgh-penguins-new-york-islanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/29\/nhl-predictions-december-29th-pittsburgh-penguins-new-york-islanders\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec. 29 Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders<\/a> are set for the second game of a back-to-back showdown. Welcome to NHL Predictions as we provide in-depth analysis and insights for NHL games throughout the season. Stay tuned for more predictions covering all the NHL action! This time, the game is from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/a>. Following a thrilling 6-3 victory for the Islanders in the first game of a back-to-back for the two divisional rivals, the Penguins look to respond at home.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Head-to-Head:<\/strong>\u00a0Islanders 2-0 Penguins<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong>\u00a05:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
\nTV:<\/strong> Sportsnet+, ESPN+.<\/p>\n

With the NHL in full swing, these fierce Metropolitan Division rivals are looking to build momentum heading into the new year. The Penguins are 16-16-5, trending upwards in their last few months of play. Meanwhile, the Islanders have been on the opposite trajectory. With a 14-15-7 record, the Islanders have been trending downward even with the efforts of superstar netminder Ilya Sorokin<\/a>. Another win against the Penguins could help to turn their season around.<\/p>\n

The Penguins’ Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pittsburgh has been battling hard all season long. Even in games they\u2019re seemingly out of, they\u2019re likely to show a willingness to try. Captain Sidney Crosby<\/a> leads the team with 39 points in 37 games. Wingers Rickard Rakell<\/a> and Michael Bunting<\/a> kept up their hot streaks in the first of this back-to-back. Rakell has 31 points in 37 games on the season. Meanwhile, Bunting has 20 points in 36 games. On defence, Erik Karlsson<\/a> has continued his point streak, with six points in his last six games. He has 25 points through 37 games this season. In net, back-up Alex Nedeljkovic<\/a> is likely to get the start. He\u2019ll be looking to improve his 5-5-3 record after his own early-season struggles.<\/p>\n

The Islanders Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Following a 7-1 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, the Islanders found success in the first of these matchups against Pittsburgh. A 6-3 win is sure to help revitalize the team. There were five different goal scorers in their game against Pittsburgh. Star Mathew Barzal<\/a> clocked two assists, as he begins to heat up. Anthony Duclair<\/a> has returned to the lineup as well, recording an assist against the Penguins. Captain Anders Lee<\/a> had a good night with two goals as well. It will require another team effort offensively to pull off two straight against Pittsburgh. In net, Semyon Varlamov<\/a> is likely to get the start. He\u2019s struggled with a 3-4-3 record and .898 save percentage. As such, the Islanders will need to insulate their goaltender as well during this contest.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions Isles and Pens<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Islanders have the momentum, but Pittsburgh will get to play this game at home. While the team found it hard to beat Sorokin, they certainly got their chances. On home ice, expect them to play even harder.<\/p>\n

Prediction:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguins win 5-4.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets for the Night<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With a +200 from many betting sites, over-7 total goals prop bet is intriguing between these teams due to their high-octane high offence matchups.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call\u00a01-800-GAMBLER<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders are set for the second game of a back-to-back showdown. Welcome to NHL Predictions as we provide in-depth analysis and insights for NHL games throughout the season. Stay tuned for more predictions covering all the NHL action! This time, the game is from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":452432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4547,17,4548,4524],"tags":[4365,996,175,2300,2699,5107,6084,6123,724,1198,140],"class_list":["post-459554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-penguins","category-hockey","category-islanders","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-alex-nedeljkovic","tag-anders-lee","tag-anthony-duclair","tag-ilya-sorokin","tag-mat-barzal","tag-michael-bunting","tag-new-york-islanders-predictions","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-predictions","tag-rickard-rakell","tag-semyon-varlamov","tag-sidney-crosby"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459591,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459554\/revisions\/459591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}