Boston Bruins vs. New York Islanders Prediction, NHL Odds
Boston hasn’t looked like the team many people predicted to win the Eastern Conference, before the season, and the Islanders are coming off Jekyll and Hyde performances against the Rangers. Both these teams are looking for their second win of the season after they each split their first two games of the year.
The Bruins are -130 favourites on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5 goals.
Bruins vs. Islanders Betting Analysis
It was a fairly close season series, last year, with two of three games needing extra time. The Islanders picked up a 3-2 shootout win, while Boston had a 3-2 overtime win and a 4-0 shutout the last time these teams faced each other.
Bettors seem to like the Islanders at home, with 73 per cent of Sports Interaction bettors picking the +108 underdog Isles and 73 per cent taking the over at 5.5.
Outside of last season, Boston has dominated the Islanders head-to-head. The Bruins have won nine of the last 10 games between these teams and Boston is on a 10 game winning streak in New York.
Boston Bruins
There has to be just a slight bit of concern after the Bruins two-game set in New Jersey ended with a shootout win and an overtime loss to a Devils team that finished 14th in the Eastern Conference, last year. Before the season there were question surrounding Boston’s defence, after the departure of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara, but it’s the offence that hasn’t been in top form through the first two games. The Bruins seem to really be missing their leading scorer from last season, David Pastrnak, who is out until February after off-season hip surgery. In the two games against New Jersey, Boston only managed to score three goals and they still haven’t had a 5-on-5 goal.
Goaltending is one area that is looking good for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask looked comfortable and confident in the season opener, making 20 saves on 22 shots (plus stopping all three shootout attempts) and Jaroslav Halak looked ready to handle a bigger workload, stopping 29 of 31 shots on Saturday.
New York Islanders
It was a bit of a free-for-all shootout in the Islanders’ two-game series with the Rangers. After looking like a structured, disciplined team in their 4-0 win on Thursday, the Isles made bad decisions and sloppy mistakes in a 5-0 loss on Saturday. The game on Saturday is probably best forgotten. After starting goalie Semyon Varlamov took a puck under his mask in warm-ups, the Islanders were forced to give Ilya Sorokin his first career start. Sorokin is a highly regarded prospect, but he was hung out to dry by the Isles and ended up allowing five goals on 32 shots.
The Islanders are a defence-structured team, so it’s likely not smart to count on them giving up five goals two games in a row. It’s unclear how serious Varlamov’s injury is, but if he’s not able to dress, Sorokin should get another start with veteran Cory Schneider backing him up. With more time to prepare, Sorokin will have another chance to show his potential, if he gets the start.
BOS
NYI