The red-hot New York Islanders will be looking for their sixth straight victory when they host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. New York won the last meeting between these teams back on February 25, 7-2.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division battle at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Boston is the favorite at -120. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for New York at +100 as the underdog.
Boston will likely be without No. 1 goaltender Tuukka Rask who is listed as questionable. Three defensemen for the Bruins are also listed as out, including Brandon Carlo. The Islanders will be without defenseman Sebastian Aho who is out indefinitely.
Bruins Blanked by Devils
Tuukka Rask stopped 24 of 25 shots, but it was not good enough for Boston as they fell to New Jersey, 1-0. Scott Wedgwood stopped all 40 shots for New Jersey. The loss moved the Bruins to 1-1-1 this month.
Boston is averaging 2.86 goals per game, 18th overall. That is surprising considering that they are sixth in the NHL in shots per game at 31.6. They are connecting on 9.1% of their shots, 23rd overall. Brad Marchand leads the team with 12 goals, 15 assists, and 27 points. He had recorded points in four straight games before the shutout, including a two-goal, one assist performance against Washington on Friday.
Boston has been great defensively, allowing 2.41 goals per game, fourth overall, and 26.3 shots per contest, second overall. They are first in penalty killing at 89.2%. Should Rask be able to go, he has been outstanding this season with a 2.46 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 14 starts. Jaroslav Halak (2.24, .913) will go if Rask is unavailable.
Nelson Leads Islanders to Victory
Brock Nelson scored two goals and Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 shots as the New York Islanders defeated Buffalo, 5-2. That was the fifth straight victory for the Islanders. They have also won the first three contests of their five-game homestand.
New York has been outstanding defensively, third in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.20) and shots allowed per contest (27.4). They are sixth in penalty killing at 83.3%. It has been the outstanding goaltending of Semyon Varlamov (2.10 GAA, .926 save percentage) and Sorokin (2.14, .911) that have led the way.
New York is finally getting some offensive production of late as well. They have scored five goals in each of the last three games. The Islanders are 16th in goals per game (2.92) and shots per contest (30.1). They are 14th on the power play at 22.7%. The Islanders are led by Matthew Barzal with 22 points.
Trends:
Boston:
- None
New York:
- 5-0 in their last five games.
- 4-0 in their last four games at home.
I found it surprising that Boston was favored. They have not been playing particularly well of late, and Rask’s status should be cause for concern. New York is red-hot right now and they are getting exceptional goaltending. Plus, the offense, which was the worst in the NHL through the first month of the season, has finally come alive. You go with the team until someone can prove they can beat them.
Pick: Take New York at +100
The Total:
You have two of the better defensive teams in the NHL facing off. Not just that they are good defensive teams, but they have outstanding goaltending as well. All four netminders in this contest have a goals-against average at just over two.
Boston has gone under in three of their last four games while New York has gone under in each of their last four games on Tuesday. I like the under here as well.
Pick: Go under 5.5 goals at -141