Islanders vs. Penguins prediction: NHL pick Monday, Feb. 20

Just three days after playing a 5-4 thriller on Long Island, the New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins will meet again on Monday night in Western Pennsylvania for a pivotal contest in the Eastern Conference playoff race. 

The Penguins are currently holding onto the first Wild Card spot in the East with 63 points from 55 games, but there is a growing pack of teams behind them, including the Islanders (63 points, 59 games played), Capitals (62 points, 58 GP), Panthers (62 points, 59 GP), Sabres (60 points, 54 GP) and Red Wings (60 points, 54 GP). 

Will we see another back-and-forth contest between the Isles and Penguins on Monday night? 

Islanders vs. Penguins prediction

(7 p.m. ET., ESPN+)

Both the Islanders and Penguins lost in regulation on Saturday, but the Isles were the ones who left their defeat in worse shape. Mat Barzal was injured just six minutes into the first period of New York’s 6-2 loss to the Bruins and will miss some time for the Islanders. 

With Barzal listed as week-to-week and missing Monday night’s contest, he joins fellow top-nine forwards Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Josh Bailey on the injured list, forcing the Isles to play a pretty unbalanced lineup against the Penguins. 

The Isles are already an offensively challenged team, and without Barzal, Pageau, and Bailey, they become a two-line team essentially.

Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, and Zach Parise will be leaned on heavily to create scoring chances because it’s hard to see Hudson Fasching, Matt Martin, Simon Holmstrom, Andy Andreoff, Arnaud Durandeau, or Ross Johnston providing much support. 

Barzal’s absence has caused the line to jump to Penguins -146, but it’s hard to trust Pittsburgh at that price, given the way the Pens have played since Christmas. The Penguins are 9-11-5 in their last 25 contests, which is the 26th-best record in the NHL in that span. What’s more concerning is that Sidney Crosby has been terrific for Pittsburgh all season, and that hasn’t been enough to get this team into a comfortable spot. 

The Penguins have struggled at both ends of the ice, but their lack of offensive output at 5-on-5 has been a major issue during this slump. The Penguins have scored just 44 goals at 5-on-5 in their last 25 games, which puts them in a tie for 28th-most in that timeframe. The job won’t get any easier on Monday, as the Pens will need to beat one of the league’s best goaltenders, Ilya Sorokin. 

Betting on the NHL?

With the Islanders icing a depleted lineup and the Penguins having trouble finding the back of the net, this game sets up for a bet on the under. 

Islanders vs. Penguins pick

Under 6 total goals (-115, BetMGM)