Overview
The Boston Bruins are in New York where they take on the East leading Islanders. Even though the Bruins have played the Islanders well over the past 5 or 6 years winning 12 of the last 20 meetings they have lost 4 of the last 5 meetings overall but they are 9-3 in the last 12 played in New York.
Head to Head Trends
Bruins are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Bruins are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in New York.
New York Islanders (-130)
The New York Islanders are 1st in the Metropolitan Division with 65 points 3 points up on the 2nd place Pittsburgh Penguins. This has obviously been a great season for the Islanders especially after their poor finish last season but they have been a little lucky so far this season winning 11 of their 12 games that have gone to overtime so I don’t think that’s something they will be able to keep up for the whole season.
The Islanders are the highest scoring team in the league averaging 3.3 goals per game plus they have the second highest shot total with 33.2 shots per game. On defense they are maybe slightly below average allowing 2.8 goals per game but they allow the second lowest shots per game 27.1. I think the key for the Islanders having a good second half is staying healthy on the blue line as they have a save percentage under 90% so if they start allowing more shots they could easily move their goals against to 3 or higher.
New York Islanders Trends
Islanders are 35-16 in their last 51 overall.
Islanders are 20-6 in their last 26 home games.
Boston Bruins (+120)
The Boston Bruins are 4th in the Atlantic Division with 57 points 8 points back of the 1st place Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins had a fairly slow start to the season but they have been playing much better of late winning 6 of their last 8 games. The Bruins are solid on defense allowing 2.5 goals per game but they have had trouble putting the puck in the net at times averaging just 2.6 goals per game.
Boston Bruins Trends
Bruins are 6-2 in their last 8 overall.
Bruins are 25-9 in their last 34 vs. Metropolitan.
Conclusion
I like the Boston Bruins as a small +120 underdog in this one. The Islanders are a good team but I have my doubts if they can maintain their good play for the full season and I also think the Bruins had a lot of injuries and bad bounces go against them in the first half so I think they will have a strong rest of the season.
Free Pick: Boston Bruins +120
