Welcome to the latest edition of NHL Predictions. Each day, our team here at Last Word on Hockey breaks down key head-to-head matchups. Highlighting key elements that may influence the outcome of each game. For this edition we’re on Long Island in UBS arena where the New York Islanders welcome in the Montreal Canadiens.
NHL Predictions
New York Islanders VS Montreal Canadiens
Time: 7:00 P.M Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
TV: Madison Square Garden Network, ESPN+
The Islanders and Canadiens will meet for the first time this season on Saturday night. These two teams will play each other three times this season. They played three times last season as well with the Canadiens taking two of the three from New York.
The Islanders Story
The Islanders are 1-1-2 on the young season. They opened the season losing back-to-back games. One of those was in overtime against Utah Hockey Club and the other in regulation against the Dallas Stars. They then traveled to the west coast to pick up their first win on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche. They reverted back to Islander ways and lost in overtime against the St. Louis Blues. The Islanders, who had 16 overtime loses last year, have two in the first four games this season already.
New York has struggled to score goals in the first week of their season. In the recent game against the Blues they were shutout, 1-0. They have 10 goals in four games, but that number is inflated by the six they had against the Avalanche. The problem comes from the Islanders being a little top heavy, relying a lot on their six top guys to produce. New addition Anthony Duclair is off to a good start with his new team tied with Brock Nelson for the team lead with three points in the four games. Those top two lines are the only ones producing the little offense they’ve gotten.
The Canadiens Story
The Canadiens are 2-3 through the first five games of the season. They have dropped the last two games, one to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the other to the Los Angeles Kings. Injuries have been the story for them so far this season. It started in the pre-season when they sent Patrik Laine to the IR with a knee injury. This trend has continued into the regular season as their top-pairing blueliners Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson missed Friday’s practice with upper-body injuries.
In addition, top line winger Juraj Slafkovsky, who was off to a hot start, left the session early while favouring his left shoulder. Guhle did not travel with the team, but the others did. Even with the injuries, Montreal still has team point leader Cole Caufield. He has scored four goals in five games. They also have Nick Suzuki, who is second on the team in points with four in five games.
Prediction
Given the injuries to the Canadians and the offensive struggles of the Islanders, goals could be hard to come by in this one. The Islanders, who just wrapped up a three game road trip, will be home for the first time since their season-opener. The Canadiens concluded a three-game homestand. They will be on the road for this one before returning home for two at their place. The Islander offense is due to breakout at some point, hopefully Saturday will be the start of it. This will be a close game. However, the home ice advantage and the injuries to the Canadians will lead to an Islanders win.
Prediction: Islanders win 3-2
Prop Bets of the Night
We wrap up NHL predictions with some prop bets. According to Fanduel, the spread has the Islanders at -1.5 meaning the Islanders would have to win by two. We think this will be a one score game so this isn’t a good bet. The over/under is 5.5, we think the under is a better play here.
As far as goal scoring bets, Simon Holmstrom from the Islanders has been playing well to start the year. He still has zero goals however, we believe that will change and at +550 those are juicy odds. For the Canadiens, the before mentioned Nick Suzuki has yet to score this season. He has four assists however so he has been in the middle of a lot of their offense. We think he pops one in this game and at +230 those are good odds.
Main photo by: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
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