Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the Colorado Avalanche will do battle against Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum in an East-West showdown. The action will get going at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, January 6, and it’ll be televised live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders Odds
New York (-105) is playing the role of underdog to Colorado (-115), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 under, +100 over.
Earning 7.5 units for moneyline bettors, New York is 25-15 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, second-best in the NHL so far in the early season, isn’t too far off from to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (48-34). Through 40 regular season contests, 23 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and just two have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 13-7 SU at home.
The Islanders have converted on 19.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
Boasting a .920 save percentage and 25.3 saves per game, Semyon Varlamov (15-11-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for New York this year. If the Isles, however, choose to give him the night off, the team might go with Thomas Greiss (11-8-8 record, .919 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average).
On the other hand, Colorado is 25-17 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 42 regular season matches, 22 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under the total and just two have pushed. As an away team, the Avalanche are 14-8 SU so far.
The Avalanche have converted on 20.0 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 24th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Philipp Grubauer (27.8 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado. Grubauer owns a 13-12-3 record, and has registered a .911 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average this year.
Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The over has hit in four of Colorado’s last five games.
- Four of New York’s last ten games have been decided by two or more goals, and the team is 1-3 overall in those games.
- The Islanders this season have tallied the second-most hits per game in the NHL (29.8).
