In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders take the ice at the Barclays Center. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 6, and fans at home can see this East-West matchup live on Fox Sports West.
Los Angeles Kings at New York Islanders Odds
Los Angeles (+170) is currently the underdog to New York (-200), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 money on the under, +105 on the over).
Earning 5.3 units for moneyline bettors, the Islanders are 30-21 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Metropolitan Division so far this season, hasn’t moved much from what the team managed during the 2018-19 season (48-34). Of the team’s 51 games this season, 21 have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just three have pushed. The team’s 16-11 SU at home this season.
New York has converted on 19.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, NY has been penalized 3.4 times per game overall this season, 3.0 per game over its past five outings total, and 3.6 per game over its last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for just 6.4 minutes per game over its last five outings, overall.
Averaging 25.8 saves per game with a .915 save percentage, Semyon Varlamov (17-15-4) has been the top goalkeeper for the Islanders this year. If they choose to give him a breather, however, the team might turn to Thomas Greiss (14-11-11 record, .922 save percentage, 2.50 goals against average).
Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson will each lead the charge for the Islanders. Barzal (44 points) has tallied 18 goals and 26 assists and has recorded multiple points in 12 different games this year. Nelson has 21 goals and 20 assists to his name and has notched a point in 26 games.
On the other bench, Los Angeles is 19-35 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of 29 of its outings have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just four have pushed. As a road team, Los Angeles is 8-22 SU so far.
Los Angeles has converted on just 17.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 24th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
Los Angeles’ players have been penalized only 3.1 times per game in total this season, and 2.0 per game over their last ten match ups. The team has had to kill penalties just 4.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Quick (25.5 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Los Angeles. Quick owns an 11-23-3 record, and has registered a .895 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Kings, the offense will run through Anze Kopitar, who has 30 assists and 17 goals this season.
Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Islanders Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their last five outings.
- The Kings have averaged the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (33.9) and New York has attempted the 27th-most (just 29.6).
- The Kings are 6-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-28 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total.
- New York (3-2 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Los Angeles fell short in both of its shootouts this year.
- New York skaters have managed 5.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.6 takeaways per game (ranked 15th).
- Los Angeles has averaged 6.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.4 takeaways per game (ranked 29th).
- New York might have an advantage if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 16-10 in games decided by one goal, while Los Angeles is 10-14 in such games.
