Islanders get out to early lead thanks to Habs lack of home offense, secure Roy's second win.
The Islanders have gained a lot of momentum since hiring Hall-of-famer Patrick Roy as their new bench boss and it was quickly snuffed out when they played a struggling Golden Knights team who handled them for the most part of a 3-2 win on Tuesday. They now take their first road trip with Roy to take on the team that took him 51st overall four decades ago in the Montreal Canadiens. He won two Stanley Cups with the Habs and has his number 33 retired with the franchise. It’ll be quite the homecoming with Roy as the Habs haven’t been quite the dominant home team they were when he was there with third-worst home record this season at 9-12-3 and tied in points with the Blackhawks and one win ahead of the Sharks.
The Habs haven’t given their home fans much to cheer for so how will they respond to an aggressive Islanders team coming in, looking to play physical and hard thanks to Roy pushing the pace during practices since taking over. It should be an exciting game and one to watch. If you want to have some added interest for the game, here is our best bet for tonight’s contest that should help get you a win while a home like the Habs desperately need.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly
Pick: Islanders ML (-150), Islanders score first (-130)
The Islanders should play aggressive thanks to Roy and should have a good chance to get on the board early as the Habs often don’t at home, only scoring first in nine of their 24 home games this season, that is tied for second-worst in the league with only 31 first period goals that is just ahead of the last-place Sharks.
The Islanders are in the top six when it comes to getting out to an early lead with the first goal in 26 of their 47 games this season and have won three of their last five matchups versus Montreal. They should get out to an early lead and not give it up thanks to the Habs bottom five home offense that averages only 2.54 goals per game at the Bell Centre.