Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Islanders: NHL Odds, Prediction
It’s the back end of a home-and-home set between the Canadiens and Islanders on Friday night as they meet in Brooklyn. It’s also the final game of the season between the clubs.
Canadiens vs. Islanders Betting Analysis
Last of three meetings and Montreal’s only visit to Brooklyn this season as the Canadiens start a six-game road swing, by far their longest remaining. Montreal lost the first meeting with the Islanders on Jan. 15, 5-4 in overtime at the Bell Centre. John Tavares’ second goal of the game was at 1:51 of OT. The Canadiens outshot the Islanders by a whopping count of 56-24. The two teams played again in Montreal on Wednesday night, and the Canadiens won 3-1.
It’s the second time this season that Montreal has played a home-and-home vs. an opponent. On Nov. 30, the Canadiens visited Detroit and won 6-3. Two nights later back at home, the Habs had their most dominant result of the year, a 10-1 trashing of the Red Wings. That was the last of a five-game winning streak for Montreal. It hasn’t won more than two in a row since.
The Islanders also have had just one home-and-home in 2017-18. On Nov. 22 in Brooklyn, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime. Two nights later back in Philly, the Isles won 5-4 in overtime. Last year, Montreal was 1-1 in Brooklyn. It won the first meeting early in the season 3-2 – part of an eight-game winning streak – but lost the second visit in late January, 3-1. New York won the season series 2-1.
The Canadiens have won 11 of the past 15 in this series overall.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens (24-29-10) concluded a four-game homestand with two wins thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over these Islanders to extend their points streak to five straight games. Defenceman Mike Reilly, acquired at Monday’s trade deadline from Minnesota for a draft pick, made his debut, played a team-high 22:56 and had one shot on goal and four hits. Antti Niemi was the No. 1 star, stopping 27 of 28 shots. He’s 4-6-2 with a 3.53 goals-against average and .897 save percentage on the season but 4-1-1 in his past six outings; of course, No. 1 Carey Price is out with a concussion and isn’t traveling for the start of this road trip. Not clear yet if it will be Niemi – who was waived earlier this season by both the Penguins and Panthers — or Charlie Lindgren on Friday because the Canadiens play again Saturday in Boston.
New York Islanders
New York (29-28-7) needs every point it can get as it chases a wild-card spot, with Columbus currently holding down the final playoff position in the East. The Islanders have picked a bad time to have a four-game losing streak and go into a scoring slump, totaling just eight goals in that skid. Mathew Barzal scored his 18th of the season for the Islanders in Wednesday’s game; he’s the leading Calder Trophy candidate and is No. 1 among rookies by a wide margin with 67 points. The Isles also play Saturday night so it remains to be seen whether it will be Jaroslav Halak or Thomas Greiss on Friday in net. Neither has been very good this season as the Isles are last in goals allowed; it was Halak on Wednesday.
