New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins Game 1 Prediction, Playoff Odds
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Nik Kowalski
The next prove-the-world-wrong challenge for Barry Trotz and the New York Islanders are the Boston Bruins with their Second Round series beginning Saturday night in front of nearly a full capacity at TD Garden.
The fourth-seeded Islanders upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to move on to the East Division’s final playoff round while the Bruins beat the Washington Capitals in five games after dropping Game 1. Puck drop Saturday goes at 8 p.m. EST.
Islanders vs. Bruins Stanley Cup Odds
In eight meetings this season the Islanders got the upper-hand with a 5-2-1 record and went a perfect 4-0 at home. But New York’s three losses to Boston were the three games Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly appeared in, two trade deadline adds who have made Boston a new team.
Hall put up 14 points in 16 regular season games with Boston while Reilly had a career-high 27 points, all of which were assists. The Islanders added some key trade deadline pieces too, as former New Jersey Devils Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac both saw action against Pittsburgh. Palmieri scored three goals (including an overtime winner) in six games, while Zajac picked up the primary assist on New York’s series-winning goal but was healthy scratched in the series’ first five games.
Boston enters a -251 favourite to advance to the conference finals, and -178 to take Game 1.
New York Islanders
Offence isn’t the Islanders’ or Trotz’s mantra, it’s playing sound hockey and strong defence. Scoring 21 goals in six playoff games says the opposite, but let’s be real: New York capitalized on Tristan Jarry’s inability to stop the puck.
In the regular season New York finished 21st with 2.71 goals per game. On the flip side, they were the second with 2.23 goals against. Strong goaltending played a key role, although Trotz has gone to rookie Ilya Sorokin in the post-season. Sorokin started four games in Round 1 and posted a .943 save percentage.
Up front, Anthony Beauvillier and Jean-Gabriel Pageau led the Isles with seven points each. And get to know Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, New York’s top pair tasked with shutting down Boston’s top six.
Boston Bruins
In years past Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak carried the Bruins’ offence. They still combined for 13 points in Round 1, but the addition of Hall has made Boston top-six a juggernaut.
Boston’s second line of Hall, David Krejci, and Craig Smith only had eight combined points in Round 1 but came through in clutch moments and make for a matchup nightmare considering opponents now have to allocate for two loaded Bruins’ lines. Opponents also have to allocate for Tuukka Rask in net, who went 4-1 with a .941 save percentage in Round 1.
NYI
BOS