In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders face off at the Barclays Center in a Metro Division matchup. MSG Network will air the matchup, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 16.
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders Odds
Carolina (+110) is currently the underdog to New York (-130) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 for the over, +105 for the under).
The Islanders are 9-8 straight up (SU) and have earned 1.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. That win percentage, the third-best in the Metropolitan Division so far in the early season, isn’t too far off from to what the team produced during the 2016-17 season (41-41). Through 17 regular season contests, 10 of its games have gone over the total, while seven have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team’s 5-2 SU at home.
New York has converted on 19.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.5 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, NY has been penalized 3.9 times per game overall this season, 4.0 per game over its past five games total, and 3.8 per game over its last five at home. The team has had to stave off opposition power plays for 8.7 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
With a .898 save percentage and 25.6 saves per game, Jaroslav Halak (5-5) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Islanders this season. If they, however, decide to give him a breather, head coach Doug Weight might roll with Thomas Greiss (4-4-4 record, .905 save percentage, 3.28 goals against average).
John Tavares and Josh Bailey will both be focal points for the Islanders. Tavares (19 points) has tallied 13 goals and six assists and has recorded multiple points six times this year. Bailey has three goals and 15 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 10 contests.
On the other bench, Carolina is 7-9 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of nine of its contests have gone over the total, while seven have gone under and none have pushed. As the away team, Carolina is 4-4 SU so far.
Carolina has converted on just 13.2 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Carolina’s players have been penalized only 2.4 times per game this season, 2.8 per game over their past five match ups total, and 2.2 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 4.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Scott Darling (24.6 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Carolina. Darling has five wins, seven losses, and four OT losses to his credit, while registering a .910 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average this year.
Teuvo Teravainen (six goals, seven assists) and Jordan Staal (six goals, seven assists) are the top offensive options for Carolina and will lead the attack for the visiting Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The total has gone over in three of New York’s last five games.
- The Hurricanes have averaged the league’s third-most shots on goal (35.9) while New York has attempted the 25th-most (only 30.1).
- The Hurricanes are 4-6 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 6-9 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Carolina is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 1-1 in shootouts.
- New York has forced 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 5.9 takeaways per game (ranked 24th in the league).
- One of the best at disrupting opposing teams, Carolina is ranked fourth in the NHL this season with 10.3 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as the team has averaged 12.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 12.0 takeaways over its last five.
