NHL Odds, Preview, Expert Prediction: Bruins vs. Islanders (January 18)

Bruins vs. Islanders Odds

Coming off a convincing shutout win against the Flyers, the Boston Bruins head to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. The B’s have been dominant all season with only five (!) regulation losses. They’ve enjoyed a ton of success all season long, including the past 10 games, going 7-1-2.

It’s been a horrid 2023 for the Islanders. Since their New Year's Day matchup against Seattle, the Isles have gone 2-4-2, with a lot of them resulting in blown leads, including Monday’s blown 3-0 lead against Washington.

Here’s a look at our odds, as well as our prediction for the Boston Bruins vs. New York Islanders.

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Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak is setting the league on fire with 35 goals and 62 points. It’s widely known that “Pasta” is one of the league’s deadliest scorers with his one-timer. Behind him, Brad Marchand is averaging over a point per game, while captain Patrice Bergeron isn’t far behind. David Krejci is also enjoying a great season after spending a year back home in Czechia.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Boston has one of the better even strength attacks. The Bruins are ranked third in expected goals with a 55.7 xGF% and generate 10 and a half high danger chances per game.

Boston has one of the premier special teams forces in the league. It’s ranked third in power play converting 27.9% of the time, while their penalty kill is by far the best with an 86.2% success rate.

Linus Ullmark will most likely get the nod here since Jeremy Swayman played on Monday. Ullmark is enjoying the best season of his life playing to a league-leading +23.3 goals saved above expected (GSAx) and .936 SV%.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are facing some serious problems. Mathew Barzal has been the only producer for this team with 41 points in 44 games. Brock Nelson had a wonderful first few months, but only has two points in eight games.

Captain Anders Lee has been decent and Noah Dobson is starting to break out of his points slump. They have missed key players like Adam Pelech, Kyle Palmieri, and Oliver Wahlstrom, but their play as of late leaves a lot to be desired.

Throughout the season, New York has maintained its position in the charts. It ranks 22nd in 5-on-5 expected goals with a 49.23 xGF% while averaging about nine and a half high danger chances per game.

One of the few bright spots for this team has been its exceptional penalty kill. The Islanders kill penalties at an astounding 82.6% pace, however, the powerplay struggles mightily scoring at only a 17.8% rate.

My guess is that Ilya Sorokin starts against a highly formidable opponent like Boston. Sorokin has played elite with shoddy results. The Russian netminder is playing to a +22.6 GSAx and a .925 SV%, which makes it a shame that the Isles are hanging him out to dry.

Bruins vs. Islanders Pick

We have two teams going in completely polar opposite directions in this game. I’m so down on the Islanders this year. They had a great start, but from the looks of it, they’ve gotten too comfortable. Their defensive efforts have been embarrassing, allowing the fifth most high danger chances. Not only that, but they’ve had a hard time generating offense.

What has made Ullmark so dominant has been the defense in front of him as well. The Bruins do a solid job at preventing high danger chances, and have an xGA/60 of 2.23 which has made Ullmark’s job incredibly easy.

The Islanders have had a hard time generating offense against the most average of teams, keeping play towards the outside. So with that, I can’t imagine them penetrating an already impenetrable defense/goalie combo like the Bruins.

Pick: Boston Bruins 60 Minute Line (-106)