Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Islanders Prediction, NHL Odds
The Isles need just a single point in their final game of the season to clinch the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, and crush the hopes for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 28th-placed Canadiens will try and play the spoiler and make the final two days of the regular season that much more important.
Both squads are looking to bounce back from a loss and the Islanders are listed as the -354 favourite to win on the NHL odds with the total sitting at 6.
Canadiens vs. Islanders NHL Betting Odds
Both meetings between New York and Montreal this season have been very close, each decided by a single goal and one needed extra time. The Habs covered in both of the games so far and Mike Matheson scored an overtime winner in the most recent meeting to even the series at one game a piece. The Canadiens have a pretty good track record versus the Islanders, winning 18 of their past 26 meetings, including 10 of their last their past 13 played in New York.
The Canadiens got lit up for seven goals in their most recent outing, making them play the Over in back-to-back games after playing the previous eight 6-1-1 to the Under. They now have a 36-38-6 record on the total for the season. Other than a six-goal outburst last week, Montreal’s offence has gone cold, being held to two goals or less in five of the past six, which includes getting shutout twice. Their one win in their past five games was the only time they covered in that stretch. They had a pretty good season ATS and made Montreal fans a bit of cash, going 43-37 against the spread over the campaign.
New York failed to cover in their loss in Washington Monday night, snapping a trend of three consecutive wins ATS. They boast a 40-41 record ATS and have covered in five of their past 10. The Islanders are one of only two playoff teams that are in the bottom 10 in the league scoring, averaging 2.9 goals per game. They have only played the Over twice in their past eight games, pushing their record to 34-43-4 on the Over/Under this season. Home ice has been a huge advantage for the Isle’s this season, going 24-13-3 at UBS Arena, including winning four of their past five home games.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens were embarrassed by their bitter rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-1 on Saturday night. Jonathan Kovacevic (3) was the lone goal scorer for the Canadiens in the loss while goalie Sam Montembeault was left in the cage for all seven of the Leafs’ goals as his team was outshot 46-21.
The loss dropped Montreal to 28th place in the NHL, which in hand gives them a better shot at getting the number one pick in back-to-back drafts.
Montreal has had a few days to let the embarrassment sink in and will be looking to rebound in both of their final regular season games.
Nick Suzuki has scored in both games versus the Islanders this season and will look to keep that streak alive and continue his best season to date. The 23-year-old captain has played in every game this season after playing all 82 last season.
New York Islanders
It will come down to game number 82 of the regular season for the New York Islanders as they have a chance to clinch their spot in the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
They lost their most recent game 5-2 to the Washington Capitals snapping a two-game win streak. The Islanders could not score in the first two periods of the game, but their bottom six forwards chipped in for a pair of goals, one from Hudson Fasching (9) and one from Casey Cizikas (6). Ilya Sorokin started his seventh consecutive game and gave up three goals on 23 shots as the Caps would score two goals in the empty net.
Bo Horvat picked up an assist in the game for his fifth point in the past three games. He was on fire when he came to New York via trade from Vancouver, but after his linemate, Mathew Barzal went down with an injury he has cooled off. Barzal has been out since February and is expected to return soon, possibly for game one of the playoffs.
If New York does not manage a single point Wednesday night, they will need to depend on the last-placed Columbus Blue Jackets to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday to sneak into the postseason.
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