Islanders vs. Lightning Picks and Prediction for Saturday, December 6, 2025
Use Code WWWC It’s an Eastern Conference tilt on the ice as a pair of teams collide when the New York Islanders take on the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night in the Sunshine State and we have the inside scoop with our Islanders vs. Lightning prediction. New York doubled up Colorado 6-3 at home Thursday night in their previous contest. Tampa Bay suffered a 4-3 home loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night in their previous contest. In the last 10 meetings between the teams, the Lightning own a 6-3-1 advantage, though the Islanders picked up a 2-1 win at home in the most recent meeting Tuesday night. Read more about this Islanders vs. Lightning prediction! Our NHL Predictions are sure to provide a great payout. Check them out!
New York Seeking Second Win Over Lightning This Week
New York beat a division leader for the second straight game as they beat up the league’s top team in the Avalanche at home Thursday night. The Islanders entered Friday tied for third in the Metropolitan Division with a 15-10-3 record, three points behind the Capitals for the top spot in the division. New York is tied for 20th in goals per game as they average 2.96 goals per contest. The Islanders are 9th in goals against per game as they allow 2.79 goals a night. New York is tied for 29th in power play success as they convert 13.8% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Islanders are tied for 8th in penalty killing as they successfully get through 82.9% of their shorthanded situations this year.
Against Colorado, New York was clicking offensively and that helped catapult them to a big victory. The Islanders were outshot 19-16 in the opening period and skated off with a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard after 20 minutes of play. Kyle MacLean opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at 5:56 off assists from Ryan Pulock and Marc Gatcomb. Anders Lee made it a 2-0 game with his sixth goal of the year at 18:20 with Mathew Barzal drawing the lone assist. In the second period, New York owned a 16-7 advantage in shots and a 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard to lead 5-2 at the second intermission. Bo Horvat made it a 3-0 game with his 17th goal of the season at 6:58 off assists from Matthew Schaefer and Pulock. Adam Pelech gave the Islanders a 4-0 advantage with his first goal of the season at 7:59 with Barzal and Lee drawing the assists. After the Avalanche tallied a pair of goals to cut the margin in half, Barzal made it a 5-2 game with his eighth goal of the season, on the power play, at 18:46, with assists going to Maxim Shabanov and Horvat. The third period saw the Islanders outshot 12-10 with both teams scoring once to secure the win. After Colorado cut the margin to two goals early in the third period, Casey Cizikas closed the scoring with an empty net goal, his second of the year, at 18:45 of the period. That goal was unassisted. Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves for the Islanders, who owned a 42-38 edge in shots, in the win. Sorokin (9-8-2, 2.60 GAA, .906 save percentage, two shutouts) gets the start in goal here.
Key Injury Report for Islanders:
- Goaltender Semyon Varlamov (knee) is out.
- Defenseman Ethan Bear (undisclosed) is out.
- Left wing Pierre Engvall (ankle) is out.
- Defenseman Alexander Romanov (upper body) is out.
- Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body) is out.
- Center Kyle Palmieri (knee) is out.
- Left wing Jonathan Drouin (back) is day-to-day.
Lightning Looking to Get Back in Win Column
Tampa Bay dropped their second straight game as they were beaten at home by Pittsburgh in their previous contest. The Lightning entered Friday 16-9-2 on the season and stood first in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Boston for the top spot. Tampa Bay went into Friday 8th in the league in goals per game as they put up an average of 3.26 goals per contest. The Lightning stands 6th in goals against by allowing 2.63 goals per game. Tampa Bay is 23rd with the man advantage as they cash in on 16.3% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Lightning are 1st in penalty killing as they successfully work through 87.4% of their shorthanded situations on the year.
Get Free $30 Credit for Premium Picks + Exclusive Discounts
Subscribe Now
Against Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay battled but ended up falling a goal short on home ice Thursday night. The Lightning owned a 15-8 advantage in shots on goal in the opening period and skated off trailing 1-0 on the scoreboard after 20 minutes of action. In the second period, Tampa Bay was outshot 11-9 and outscored 2-1 to trail 3-1 at the second intermission. The Lightning gave up the first two goals of the period to trail 3-0 before Nikita Kucherov got Tampa Bay on the board with his 12th goal of the season at 18:46, with assists going to Darren Raddysh and Jake Guentzel. In the third period, the Lightning owned a 16-12 advantage in shots and a 2-1 edge on the scoreboard, leaving them on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Brandon Hagel got Tampa Bay within a goal with his 16th goal of the year, on the power play, at 1:17 off assists from Nikita Kucherov and Raddysh. Hagel tied the game with his second goal of the night and 17th of the year at 11:44 off assists from Nick Paul and Gage Goncalves. They gave up the winning goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Jonas Johansson made 27 saves for Tampa Bay, who owned a 40-31 edge in shots, in the loss. Andrei Vasilevskiy (11-6-2, 2.26 GAA, .917 save percentage, shutout) is expected to get the start in goal here.
Key Injury Report for Lightning:
- Defenseman Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed) is out.
- Defenseman Victor Hedman (undisclosed) is out.
- Defenseman Erik Cernak (lower body) is out.
- Center Brayden Point (undisclosed) is out.
Islanders vs. Lightning Pick
Islanders vs. Lightning Puckline Pick
- Islanders +1.5 (-145) (4 units)
Tampa Bay has dropped two straight heading into this contest, including their defeat at home to the Penguins. Missing three of their top four or five defensemen is a challenge for any team, and it is unclear when they’ll be back. On the plus side, Vasilevskiy is slated to return here after missing Thursday’s contest. New York has won two straight, downing this Tampa Bay squad and snapping the Avalanche’s 17-game point run, entering this one. The Islanders earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Lightning Tuesday nigh,t and Sorokin can keep the visitors in the game. Sprinkle on the moneyline, but taking the puckline here gives a little extra cushion.
Islanders vs. Lightning Over/Under Pick
- Under 6.5 (4 units)
New York has seen the over hit in 14 of their 28 games on the year. The Islanders have an average total of 5.75 goals per game and that number is six goals per game on the road in their 13 contests entering Friday. They enter this game having stayed under the number in nine of their last 12 games. Tampa Bay has seen the under post a 14-12-1 mark in their 27 games this season in relation to the total entering Friday night. The Lightning have seen an average of 5.89 goals per game this season and that number bumps up to 5.93 goals per game on home ice this season. Five of the last six meetings between the teams fell short of the mark. Don’t expect big fireworks here. Play the under.
Never Tried Winners and Whiners? Now Is Your Chance
- Get your first daily picks package for ONLY $1 using coupon code DOLLAR
- If the pick loses, we credit your account with 3 Flex Picks
- If the pick wins, we still give you 1 Flex Pick on the house
- Win or lose, you walk away ahead. One dollar. No catch.
Up To $1500 in Bonus Bets Paid Back if your First Bet Does Not Win
New Users – Bet $5 Get $200 in Bet Reset Tokens for 5 Days
