The New York Islanders VS Vegas Golden Knights matchup features two teams playing for a chance to enter into the All-Star break.
Vegas sits near the top of the Pacific Division owning to their 29-17-3 record.
New York fell to the bottom of the Metropolitan Divison, no thanks to their current 23-22-5 record and January 2-8-3 record.
With All-Star Weekend inching closer, it will be interesting to see how things play out between these teams and which of them will advance to the event.
These are some of the best NHL Predictions Today today for Islanders and Knights, brought to you by MatchPlug.
Predictions and Betting Preview for New York Islanders VS Vegas Golden Knights
- Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn.
- When: Saturday, January 28th, 2023
- Time: 16:30 GMT
- Teams to play: New York Islanders and Vegas Golden Knights
- NHL Picks: MONEYLINE 2.54
Odds as seen on 1XBet and BetMGM.
Betting On The New York Islanders
Season Record: 23-22-5 record
- 1XBet Spread: -1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.54
- 1XBet Over/Under: Under 5.5
- BetMGM Spread: +1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 1.91
- BetMGM Over/Under: Under 6
Like most teams in the NHL, the New York Islanders have bowed to the damnation caused at the hands of their offense, scoring just 2.88 goals per game with 1.92 goals per game in January.
Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal, and Anders Lee scored 46 goals and facilitated 72 assists, but the other members of the offense line haven’t pulled their weight at all. Only 7 skaters have 7 goals or higher and this makes them sitting ducks for the Knights’ offense.
While the offense is nothing to boast of, the Islanders’ defense took the initiative and has allowed only 2.80 goals per game.
Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov combined for 5.4 defensive points shares and 176 blocked shots. Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, and Sebastian Aho have collective 6.3 defensive point shares. Meanwhile, Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has a .912 save percentage and a 2.80 goals-against average on 464 shots.
Betting On The Vegas Golden Knights
Season Record: 29-17-3
- 1XBet Spread: +1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.68
- 1XBet Over/Under: Over 5.5
- BetMGM Spread: -1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 1.91
- BetMGM Over/Under: Over 6
The Vegas Golden Knights seemed to have escaped the curse of a failing offense, as theirs are up and doing, scoring 3.16 goals per game.
Jack Eichel and Chandler Stephenson scored 26 goals and 51 assists, leading the top line, but the other offense members played well too. William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault have combined for 44 goals and 53 assists.
Vegas’ defense has been good too, Alex Pietrangelo added five goals and 26 assists to help open up the offense. The entire offense line allowed only 2.88 goals per game. Brayden McNabb and Alec Martinez combined for 5.5 defensive point shares and 257 blocked shots. Pietrangelo, Nicolas Hague, and Ben Hutton combined for 4.5 defensive point shares to give the unit depth.
Additionally, Logan Thompson the Golden Knights’ goaltender is having a hell of a season, with a .912 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average on 1031 shots.
MatchPlug Prediction
The Islanders will try to put an end to a difficult month, in today’s game, but the Golden Knights will double down on their efforts to dominate the game on both ends of the ice.
Vegas with their average of 3.16 goals per game, should have no problem finding the back of New York’s net. Stephenson, Eichel and the forward unit will carry the puck into the offensive zone and use quick passes to create open shots.
The Golden Knights will weaken the Islanders’ offense which averages only 2.88 goals per game with McNabb, Martinez and the defensive unit limiting shots on the net with turnovers in the defensive zone. This should give Thompson enough space to save plenty of goals.
Expert predictions place the Vegas Golden Knights as the Moneyline favourites to win the game with a powerful road performance.
However, you can find the match odds and NHL Expert Picks for this game on 1XBet and BetMGM.
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