Islanders vs. Panthers: Betting Odds, Lineups, Noah Dobson Stays In

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 08: Noah Dobson #8 of the New York Islanders leads the team out for warm-ups prior to playing in his first NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers at NYCB’s LIVE Nassau Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. As part of the rookie initiation, the rest of the team gives the player a few laps before they join him. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders stay in the sunshine state to play the Florida Panthers and hopefully cement this road trip into a successful one.

With Nick Leddy still not 100 percent, rookie defenseman Noah Dobson will get his eight start in the NHL. The New York Islanders twelveth overall pick in 2018 has found ice-time hard to come by this year, but with the veteran left-handed Leddy out, Trotz will turn to Dobson again.

In his last game with the team, Dobson played a measly 9:34. The other five Islanders defensemen played a minimum of 18:04. Barry Trotz wants to ease Dobson into the NHL but his usage has been woefully low.

Perhaps now that Leddy is out for a short-time Dobson can run with the opportunity and show Trotz that he can be trusted.

His opposition tonight is the Florida Panthers. The Panthers, the fourth-best team in the Atlantic Division, hold the fifth-best* offensive record with 106 goals-for. Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov already have 37 and 36 points, respectively. No one on the Islanders has eclipsed 30 points yet.

*Florida is tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins with 103 goals-for.

It’s going to be a tough assignment for Dobson, but if he can perform well he’ll have taken a small step forward in the eyes of his coach.

Betting Odds

The Panthers have a decent 9-5-2 home record while the Islanders have been great on the road. Over the Isles last five road games, they’re 2-3-0. Things are getting better but not enough for oddsmakers to put the Islanders as the favorite.

Curtsey of the Action Network, the Islanders are, at the time of writing, +105 underdogs tonight while the Panthers are -125 favorites.