In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

Additional Model Predictions ⬇️

NBA Model Predictions- Click Here

NCAAB Model Predictions- Click Here

There were plenty of model predictions to go around yesterday across the NHL, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions in our Featured Matchup. That prediction went 0-1 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model’s performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 2-2

Over/Under Predictions: 1-2-1

Puck Line Predictions: 3-1

Featured Matchup: 0-1

14 NHL games are scheduled to take place today. Our model’s predictions for all 14 matchups can be found below.

Florida Panthers @ New York Islanders

Model Predicts- Islanders ML, OVER 6, Islanders +1.5

The Florida Panthers will close out a two-game road trip on Saturday, with the final stop coming in New York to take on the Islanders.

Florida enters tonight’s matchup with a stellar 30-14-4 record, one highlighted by a shoot out win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. That victory was the third-straight for Florida, while New York enters tonight having lost two-straight games and six of its last seven.

The Panthers and Islanders are trending in opposite directions, but our model predicts that the Islanders can turn things around tonight. Let’s take a look at why that is.

Florida Panthers

• Fresh off win against Penguins on Friday

  • Won 3-2 in overtime

  • Outshot 37-31. All goals came on power play

• Defense is due for massive amount of regression

  • Own 0.96 GA/60 in 5-on-5 during three-game win streak, but xGA/60 in same span sits at 2.17

• Expected goalie- Anthony Stolarz

  • .942 Save % in 5-on-5. Ranks 24th in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) with +4.9

New York Islanders

• Struggling to find win column

  • Have gone 1-5-1 in last seven games

  • Fired head coach, but are 1-2 since the move

• Still have several statistics on their side despite recent losses

  • xGF/60 in 5-on-5 in last seven game sits 1.21 goals higher than GF/60- should start seeing offense score more goals

  • xGA/60 in 5-on-5 in last seven games is 2.31- 10th best in NHL

• Expected goalie- Ilya Sorokin

  • .927 Save % in 5-on-5. Ranks 46th in GSAx (+0.2)

What’s the Play?

It’s hard to have confidence in the Islanders right now, but we agree with our model that New York can win tonight’s matchup.

The defensive regression that is on the horizon for the Panthers will likely take place tonight, as this is the second game of a back-to-back and Anthony Stolarz is a goalie that doesn’t see much time on the ice despite solid numbers this season. Florida is 1-0-1 in these situations this season, defeating the Canadiens and losing to the Maple Leafs.

Additionally, many statistics show that New York’s offense is due for an explosive night, while those same statistics show the Islanders defense has been rather strong even in the midst of losses. This is a great spot to back the underdog.

The Play: Islanders ML (+115)

Money Line Trends 💰

• Toronto Maple Leafs- 24-14-8 overall this season, 13-5-6 as the away team

• New York Islanders- 20-17-11 overall this season, 12-6-6 as the home team

Over/Under Trends ⬆️⬇️

• Pittsburgh Penguins- Under is 25-17-3 this season with average total of 5.76

• Vancouver Canucks- Over is 28-17-3 this season with average total of 6.33

Puck Line Trends ➕➖

• Philadelphia Flyers- Puck line is 29-20 this season

• Vancouver Canucks- Puck line is 33-15 this season

💰 Flyers sign Tippett to eight-year extension. The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Owen Tippett to an eight-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $6.2 million. Tippett, who was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, has posted 30 points in 46 games this season and achieved a career-high of 27 goals in 2022-23. The Flyers are now projected to have approximately $8.6 million in available cap space for the next season, ranking third in the Metropolitan Division with 56 points.

✍️ Avalanche sign Parise to one-year deal. The Colorado Avalanche have signed veteran forward Zach Parise to a one-year contract with a cap hit of $825,000, as announced by the team on Friday. Parise, who recently completed back-to-back seasons with 30-plus points with the New York Islanders, scored 15 goals in 2021-22 and 21 goals in the last season. The 39-year-old is expected to play a bottom-six role for the Avalanche, bringing a proven ability to generate offense.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- What Georgia Tech wide receiver was the first wide receiver drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft?

Question #2- Wake Forest lost to what No.13 seed in the first round of the 2009 March Madness tournament?

Question #3- Barry Bonds leads the MLB in MVP awards since 2000. How many has he won since then?

Anyone know what has happened on January 27th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On January 27th…

1970- Terry Bradshaw is selected with the No.1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Bradshaw’s NFL career would get off to a rough start, completing just 38.1% of his passes and throwing six touchdowns to 24 interceptions in his rookie season. It would take until his sixth season to throw more touchdowns than interceptions, and he would end his career with a 51.2% completion %, 212 touchdowns, and 210 interceptions.

1989- Detroit Red Wings star Steve Yzerman records his 100th point of the season. The milestone came despite Yzerman playing in less than 50 games on the season, becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark in less than 50 games. He did so by scoring a goal and adding two assists in an 8-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

1991- The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV. New York took home the win by scoring 20 points compared to Buffalo’s 19, outscoring the Bills 10-7 in the second half after being down at halftime. Running back Ottis Anderson was named MVP, tallying 102 yards and a touchdown.

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Cleveland State

3. 4