The Montreal Canadiens are battling for a playoff spot, while the New York Islanders are trying to catch the Capitals for the Metropolitan Division lead. The Habs and Isles face off on Long Island – not Brooklyn – on Thursday with New York as a NHL betting favorite.
How to Bet Canadiens vs Islanders NHL Week 24 Odds & Game Info
Robin Lehner could be back in net as soon as tomorrow. #Isles practice day updates: pic.twitter.com/6xXJsmGITA
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) 13 de marzo de 2019
- When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Week 24 Odds: NY Islanders -140 / Montreal Canadiens +120 (Total 5.5)
Season Series
Second of three meetings. Montreal leads 1-0, winning 4-3 in a shootout on Nov. 5 at the Islanders. Joel Armia scored in the fifth round on the first shootout attempt of his career. After his team’s first four skaters in the shootout couldn’t beat goalie Thomas Greiss, Canadiens coach Claude Julien decided to go with the right-handed Armia instead of Charles Hudon. Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin each had a goal and an assist, Artturi Lehkonen also scored and Noah Juulsen added two assists.
The Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 deficit after 20 minutes to win for the fifth time in the last six meetings with the Islanders. Antti Niemi started in place of Carey Price and made 21 saves before stopping all five of New York’s attempts in the shootout. Casey Cizikas scored twice and Valtteri Filppula also had a goal for the Islanders. Thomas Greiss stopped 32 shots.
Why Bet on Montreal?
Montreal snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 home win over Detroit on Tuesday, a game the Habs really had to have for their playoff chances. Andreas Athanasiou scored in the third period for Detroit, which has won just once in its past 12 games. Jonathan Bernier stopped 33 shots. The Red Wings have dropped their last nine games against the Canadiens. It was the last of four meetings between the Canadiens and Red Wings this season.
Carey Price stopped 20 of 21 shots, who should have had a shutout if he didn’t allow a soft goal to Andreas Athanasiou to open the third period. It was career win No. 315, breaking Hall of Famers Jacques Plante’s franchise record. Price is the ninth active NHL goaltender to sit atop his franchise wins list and just the third to do so with an Original Six team.
Plante spent parts of 11 seasons with Montreal during his Hall of Fame career, winning five consecutive Stanley Cups from 1956-60. Price, who was selected fifth overall by Montreal in the 2005 entry draft, improved to 315-221-67 in 12 seasons with the Canadiens. Price owns a 29-20-5 record with season with a 2.59 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage.
Max Domi scored two goals in the win. Andrew Shaw sent the puck to the net and Domi redirected it to open the scoring at the 12:27 mark of the second period. It’s been a great first season for Domi who added one into an empty-netter. He has 24 goals and 62 points in 70 games this season. Brett Kulak also scored in the win.
Tomas Tatar picked up two assists. He has reached the 50-point mark in his first season with the Canadiens. This is the second time in his career that Tatar has hit 50 points with the first coming in 2014-15 when he was a member of the Red Wings.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.01
- Shots: 33.47
- PP/PK Percentage: 12.26
Defense
- Goals: 2.97
- Shots: 30.97
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.63
Why Bet on NY Islanders?
The Islanders won for the third time in four games Monday, 2-0 over Columbus. The Blue Jackets’ best offensive chance came in the middle frame when Cam Atkinson rang a wrist shot off the post. Columbus also came up empty on three power-play opportunities. The Islanders improved to 16-8-1 against divisional opponents.
Thomas Greiss turned aside all 31 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the year. The 33-year-old has now rattled off three wins in his last four games and he’s given up two goals or fewer in each of those victories. Greiss owns a 20-11-2 record with a 2.26 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage this season.
Greiss has played very well in Robin Lehner’s absence. Lehner has participated in on-ice work the past two days after sustaining an injury from a collision but remains day to day. Lehner (upper body) is a “possibility” for Thursday night, per coach Barry Trotz.
Ryan Pulock scored the first goal Monday, blasting a shot by Sergei Bobrovsky just 6:11 into the first period. The Isles defender finished the night with a plus-1 rating, four shots on goal, one hit and three blocked shots in 24:56 of ice time. The 24-year-old has eight goals and 33 points in 69 games this season. Anders Lee added an empty-netter late in regulation to secure the victory. He’s up to 24 goals and 44 points in 69 games this season.
Defenseman Johnny Boychuk (upper body) hasn’t skated since he was injured last Saturday. Trotz said that Boychuk is still listed as day-to-day. He’s probably out for this game too.
The Islanders have gone 11-7-2 since the All-Star break compared to their 15-3-1 run prior to it.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.90
- Shots: 28.30
- PP/PK Percentage: 15.23
Defense
- Goals: 2.43
- Shots: 30.68
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.58
Canadiens vs Islanders NHL Week 24 Betting Trends
- Underdog is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings
- Road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings
- Over is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings in New York
- Montreal is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
- Montreal is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
- NY is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- NY is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games at home
Expert Final Score Prediction for Canadiens vs Islanders
Montreal Canadiens 2 – NY Islanders 3
