Islanders hope to ignite struggling offense versus Bedard-less Blackhawks in Windy City matchup
The Blackhawks have caught the injury bug recently with a third of their roster is out, headlined by 18-year-old rookie star Connor Bedard, as well as other offensive staples like Nick Foligno, Anthony Beauvillier, and Tyler Johnson. While sitting with 20 more points than the Hawks, the Islanders aren’t exactly doing fantastic either. They hope to break a three-game losing streak against the second-worst team in the league behind the Sharks. In their last meetup, the Blackhawks were shut out 3-0 and was one of their 11 losses that month. They haven’t done much since with having only won two of their last eight games this year.
It looks to be a close and low scoring game and if you are hoping to get in on the action and enhance your viewing experience, here are our best bets for tonight’s game between the Islanders and Blackhawks.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly.
Pick: Islanders -1.5 (+100)
In the past ten games, the Blackhawks have averaged a measly 1.70 goals per game. To put that into perspective, that’s worse than the Sharks average of 1.98 goals per game so far this season. The Hawks are no better defensively, as one of the worst defensive teams in the league in fact with a 3.30 goals against average in their last ten games. While better than their season average of 3.59 per game, it’s not much of an improvement.
The Islanders have a sub-par 2.60 goals per game in their last ten, but don’t get it twisted as far as the Islanders’ offense. Teamwork makes the dreamwork and the Islanders have taken that to heart with the teams goal-scoring becoming more widely distributed. Forwards Matthew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Anders Lee, and Jean Gabriel-Pageau have all combined for 15 goals in the past ten games, averaging between one and three goals each.
The Islanders have only won three of their last ten games, but some of those losses were understandable as they played the likes of the Golden Knights, Canucks, Jets, and the Avalanche, who are the top two teams in their both conferences. In the same period, they also beat the Capitals and the Hurricanes, who both outrank them in the standings.
Defensively, they have found a star to lead their back end with two-way star Noah Dobson. Not only is he the fifth highest-ranked defenseman in the NHL but he also has helped them offensively with nine assists and ten points in the past ten games. Their offense should dominate this game and help them to a puck line cover.
Pick: Under 5.5 (-120)
It seems unlikely the Hawks will score much based on their weak performance in the last ten games. The Islanders can likely get a few past the Hawks’ terrible defense but most likely only two or three given their recent performance. Perhaps newfound energy to break their losing streak will help them score three goals and it’s no secret the Hawks’ goaltending is bad.
Expected starter Petr Mrazek reps a 3.04 goals against average and a .907 save percentage and should help this under with four straight starts allowing two or fewer goals.