The New York Islanders wrap up their California swing with a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Kings on Monday night.
The Islanders played Anaheim on Sunday night, so this is a bit of a tricky schedule spot, but the good news is that the Isles will have No. 1 goaltender Ilya Sorokin between the pipes after Semyon Varlamov played in Anaheim.
Sorokin’s form has always been strong this season, but he’s really found a groove since Patrick Roy took over. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out why.
Before Roy took over, the Islanders were abject in their own end.
The Islanders were among the worst teams in the NHL at preventing shots on goal and quality scoring chances through the first half of the campaign. No goalie would impress under that kind of barrage.
Islanders vs. Kings prediction
(10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Under Roy, the Islanders rank among the best teams in the NHL at preventing scoring chances at five-on-five and Sorokin’s numbers have improved alongside.
Both of these teams are playing a strong defensive brand of hockey at the moment and that should put a premium on space and scoring chances in Hollywood on Monday night.
That makes the under seem like a solid bet, but I’d rather take a shot on a bigger price and back this game to go into overtime.
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The Islanders have played more overtime games this season than any team other than the Boston Bruins, while the Kings have gone past regulation in two of their last three contests.
Barring a dud from either side, it’s hard to see this tilt getting out of hand and that should keep the overtime angle in play throughout the game.
BET: Sixty-minute draw (+350, FanDuel) * Bet +330 or better