PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* TOTAL DOMINATION >> WON LAST NIGHT!
(NHL) NY Islanders vs. Chicago,
Total: 6.50 | -124.00 Over
Result: Loss
Total: 6.50 | -124.00 Over
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 23-20-4 New York Islanders now find themselves three points out of playoff position (50points) after losing two straight and seven of the past 10 contests. They begin a three-game road trip Saturday night in Chicago against 22-17-6 Blackhawks. The Islanders have been ravaged by injuries of late and are last in the league in goals-against per game (3.66), after being outscored 9-3 in losses to New Jersey and Boston in their last two. The Blackhawks have been off since a demoralizing 4-0 loss to Detroit back on Jan. 14 and continue to miss All-Star goalie Corey Crawford (upper-body), who remains out an indefinite period. Chicago is 5-3-1 over its last nine games and still has three contests remaining on its six-game homestand.
NY Islanders: "You need to work in this league, every shift," New York head coach Doug Weight told reporters after the 5-2 loss to Boston on Thursday. "The teams that have 60, 55 points, they're working hard nine out of 10 shifts. We're 7½ right now and it's costing us." The Islanders also face Arizona and Vegas on their trip and are 10-13-1 on the road as they visit Chicago. Second-leading scorer Josh Bailey (51 points) returned from a four-game injury absence Thursday to notch an assist but fellow top-six forward Andrew Ladd (upper-body) is not expected back this weekend. Captain John Tavares (55 points) recorded his 25th goal Thursday, moving within one of team-leader Anders Lee (26 goals & 41 points), and right wing Jordan Eberle (15 goals & 37 points) also scored to give him eight points in the past five games. Center Mathew Barzal easily leads all NHL rookies in points with 48 and boasts three goals along with eight assists in his past five contests.
Chicago: Leading scorer Patrick Kane (18 goals), who is three points shy of 800 in his career, and captain Jonathan Toews (14 goals and 31 points) have yet to hit the scoresheet on the homestand for the Blackhawks, whose 50 points leaves them last in the Central Division (Chicago's 109 points topped the Central last season). Forward Nick Schmaltz (12 goals and 32 points) has picked up a lot of the slack offensively over the last 10 games with six goals and six assists during that stretch. Schmaltz is second on the team behind Kane's 45 points. Jeff Glass, a 32-year-old first-year player, is 3-2-1 3.18 GAA & .910 SP) and fellow goalie Anton Forsberg (3-6-3, 2.92 GAA & .911 SP) allowed five goals in his last three games (2-1-0) to keep Chicago afloat with Crawford on the shelf.
The pick: Chicago is 0-for-9 with the man advantage over the first three games of its current homestand but has also killed all 17 power plays over the last six contests. No reason to think Chicago will score much off its league-mandated break, even against New York's leaky defense. In fact, New York's Jaroslav Halak is expected to make his 29th start of the season in this one and he boasts a 7-1-3 record with a 2.06 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 12 career meetings against Chicago. Make the Under a 10* play.
NY Islanders: "You need to work in this league, every shift," New York head coach Doug Weight told reporters after the 5-2 loss to Boston on Thursday. "The teams that have 60, 55 points, they're working hard nine out of 10 shifts. We're 7½ right now and it's costing us." The Islanders also face Arizona and Vegas on their trip and are 10-13-1 on the road as they visit Chicago. Second-leading scorer Josh Bailey (51 points) returned from a four-game injury absence Thursday to notch an assist but fellow top-six forward Andrew Ladd (upper-body) is not expected back this weekend. Captain John Tavares (55 points) recorded his 25th goal Thursday, moving within one of team-leader Anders Lee (26 goals & 41 points), and right wing Jordan Eberle (15 goals & 37 points) also scored to give him eight points in the past five games. Center Mathew Barzal easily leads all NHL rookies in points with 48 and boasts three goals along with eight assists in his past five contests.
Chicago: Leading scorer Patrick Kane (18 goals), who is three points shy of 800 in his career, and captain Jonathan Toews (14 goals and 31 points) have yet to hit the scoresheet on the homestand for the Blackhawks, whose 50 points leaves them last in the Central Division (Chicago's 109 points topped the Central last season). Forward Nick Schmaltz (12 goals and 32 points) has picked up a lot of the slack offensively over the last 10 games with six goals and six assists during that stretch. Schmaltz is second on the team behind Kane's 45 points. Jeff Glass, a 32-year-old first-year player, is 3-2-1 3.18 GAA & .910 SP) and fellow goalie Anton Forsberg (3-6-3, 2.92 GAA & .911 SP) allowed five goals in his last three games (2-1-0) to keep Chicago afloat with Crawford on the shelf.
The pick: Chicago is 0-for-9 with the man advantage over the first three games of its current homestand but has also killed all 17 power plays over the last six contests. No reason to think Chicago will score much off its league-mandated break, even against New York's leaky defense. In fact, New York's Jaroslav Halak is expected to make his 29th start of the season in this one and he boasts a 7-1-3 record with a 2.06 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 12 career meetings against Chicago. Make the Under a 10* play.
