The New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils help kick off a new week in the NHL with a Metropolitan Division matchup. These rivals have yet to meet this season, and meet for the first of four matchups.
The Devils come into this one with a strong record of 11-4-0, which has them tied in points with the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens for first in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders, meanwhile, are 7-6-2, but would love nothing more than to spoil New Jersey’s efforts to stay atop the standings.
The New Jersey Devils came into this season with a vengeance after an injury-riddled end to last season blew up a promising year. They have flown out of the gates and have won 11 of the past 14 games. They are also running with a two-game winning streak, and will look to make it three.
New York will be in tough here, as the Devils show no signs of slowing, and the two rosters on the ice are very different. As the Islanders are in a rebuild, the team has considerable potential but lacks depth and star talent. New Jersey should be able to exploit this, as they have an extremely deep roster, with a great mix of young and veteran stars.
New York is coming off an impressive 5-0 win over the New York Rangers, but their inconsistency has shown no confidence that they will perform up to this standard against an even tougher team. New Jersey is on home ice in a division game, and they should get the job done.
In what should be a good division battle, a lot of goals should be scored. The Devils have not been scoring a ton lately (2.6 goals per game in the last 5 games), but this game is an excellent opportunity for them to post a significant amount. The Islanders have given up the league’s eighth-worst goals against average of 3.13 goals against per game.
The Islanders have shown to be inconsistent, as they scored five goals in their most recent contest, but gave up five in the one before that. With this inconsistency, I expect a mix of goals for and goals against. The Devils have been average at defending, so New York should be able to join in on the scoring results.
This game has a lot of importance early into the season, so offensive talents like Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Bo Horvat should all be ready to put their best foot forward in this one.
New Jersey captain Nico Hischier is an important player for the Devils on many fronts, and while he may not be the flashiest offensive player compared to others on the team, he is a threat every night. Hischier is currently tied for fourth on the team in points (11) and third in assists (8).
The Devils will have a good opportunity to score multiple goals against this Islanders team that could be susceptible to many goals against. That means that multiple players could join in on the scoring. I think Hischier can be a part of these offensive results.
It has been a cold streak for Hischier, as he has accumulated just one goal and one assist in his last seven games. He started the season with nine points in eight games, and he should lead by example in an important divisional matchup.
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NY Islanders
+125
NJ Devils
-150
Puck Line
NJ Devils -1.5
Total
O/U 6.0
Jack Hughes (NJ Devils)
+110
Bo Horvat (NY Islanders)
+155
Nico Hischier (NJ Devils)
+180
Jesper Bratt (NJ Devils)
+210
Matthew Barzal (NY Islanders)
+230
Kyle Palmeri (NY Islanders)
+230
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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