{"id":460390,"date":"2025-01-09T11:40:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T16:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=460390"},"modified":"2025-01-09T11:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T16:40:31","slug":"nhl-predictions-jan-9-new-york-islanders-vs-vegas-golden-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/01\/09\/nhl-predictions-jan-9-new-york-islanders-vs-vegas-golden-knights\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Jan. 9 New York Islanders Vs Vegas Golden Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the\u00a0New York Islanders<\/a> taking on the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as\u00a0our writers continue this series throughout the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

New York Islanders vs Vegas Golden Knights<\/h3>\n

Time<\/strong>: 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

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Tv: <\/strong>MSGSN, MSGSN2, SCRIPPS, ESPN+<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This matchup features two out-of-conference opponents who are having opposite seasons so far. The Islanders are in last place in the Eastern Conferences Metropolitan Division. Through 40 games their record is 15-18-7, good for 37 points. On the other hand, the Knights are in first place in the Western Conferences Pacific Division. Through 40 games they are 28-9-3, good for 59 points. This is the first matchup of the season between these teams. Tonight’s matchup will be at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise Nevada. They will meet one more time on Long Island in February. Last season Vegas swept the season series 2-0.<\/div>\n
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The Islanders Story<\/h4>\n

The Islanders come into this game fresh off snapping their three-game losing skid. This came on the road in a 5-4 overtime thriller against the Boston Bruins. The offence was finally able to break up scoring more than three goals for the first time in three games.\u00a0Team points leader Anders Lee<\/a> continued his strong season with two goals, he has scored five times over his last five games. Despite this outburst it has been a struggle offensively for this team as they rank 26th in the league in goals with 2.65 per game. The powerplay didn’t get a chance in the last game but that unit still ranks last at 11%. Some good news however is Matthew Barzal has found a groove after coming back off the injured list, he is riding a three-game point streak coming into this one.<\/p>\n

Defensively for the Islanders it hasn’t been pretty recently. They have allowed three or more goals in 10 out of the last 11 games. This stretch has dropped them down to 22nd in goals against with 3.18 per game. They have given up the 11th most high danger shots with 87. Ilya Sorokin<\/a> and his numbers have taken a hit because of this, they rely heavily on him to bail them out in games. He did just that in the last game; despite allowing four goals, he made huge saves to keep them in it when it mattered. The wing bumped his record to 12-13-4 with a .898 save percentage and 2.92 goals against.<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights Story<\/h4>\n

For the Golden Knights, they have been flying high so far this season. They have won nine of their last 10 games including three in a row. It starts with their high-powered offence which ranks fourth in goals with 3.55 per season. They create a lot of good chances, ranking fourth in high danger shots for with 96. Led by star player Jack Eichel<\/a> and his 52 points in 39 games this season. He has five points over his last three games. Next to him is Mark Stone<\/a>, he missed a month and still has 33 points in 25 games. Stone also has five points over the last three games. They get it done 5v5 and on the man advantage with the eighth ranked powerplay at 24.2%.<\/p>\n

Along with the offence, their defence is strong as well. They rank fifth in goals against with 2.65 per game. However, they have given up the fourth most high danger shots with 101. The reason for their low goals against has been the strong play from their goalie tandem. Starter Adin Hill<\/a> has been great with a 17-6-2 record with a .904 save percentage and 2.58 goals against. The backup Ilya Samsonov<\/a> is playing well too. He holds a record of 10-3-1 with a .907 save percentage and 2.69 goals against.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h3>\n

The Knights have the advantage in every facet of this game. From offence to defence, to special teams and goaltending, they have an edge everywhere. They even have the home ice advantage playing in their favor too. All of these aspects add up to what should be a Knights win, extending their win streak to four.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/strong>: Knights win 4-2<\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/h3>\n

According to Fanduel, the Golden Knights are the favourites at -176 on the money line, take that. The over\/under is set at 5.5. Given the Knights offence and the Islanders coming off a five-goal game, take the over at -140. As far as any time goal scorers, for the Islanders take Anders Lee at +250. Coming off his two-goal performance, look for him to build on it and score another. For the Knights take Jack Eichel, the teams point leader is always a threat to light the lamp.<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the\u00a0New York Islanders taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5162,"featured_media":460460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4547,17,4548,4524,807],"tags":[37,491,38,961],"class_list":["post-460390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-islanders","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","category-vegas-golden-knights","tag-hockey","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-nhl","tag-vegas-golden-knights"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460461,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460390\/revisions\/460461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}