Kraken vs. Islanders Odds
| Seattle Kraken | -110 |
| New York Islanders | -110 |
| Over/Under | 5.5 |
| Time | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | MSGSN |
The Bo Horvat era is off to a strong start for the New York Islanders. He didn't register a point, but he did help his team get a win in his first game in the new uniform. The Islanders will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in Philly last night.
The Seattle Kraken were one of the biggest surprises in the first half of the NHL season as they are currently tied for first place in the Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Islanders are starting to heat up, and the goaltenders are both looking decent, but can they keep up offensively with the Kraken?
Will the Kraken's Goaltending Deliver?
The Seattle Kraken have been one of the best offensive teams in the league this season, averaging 3.61 goals per game. That being said, they will be without their rookie sensation and third-leading scorer, Matty Beniers, who is out due to injury.
The Kraken weren't all that hot going into the All-Star break, losing four out of their last seven games, but they are hoping to kick the second half of the season off on the right foot. One strength of this Kraken team is that they certainly do not fear playing on the road. They enter this game with a 16-5-2 record as the away team, and tonight they will try to spoil Horvat's first home game as a member of the Islanders.
Goaltending will be the biggest concern for Seattle in this game. The Kraken are going up against a strong opposing netminder in Ilya Sorokin, so Martin Jones or Phillipp Grubauer will have to be at his best. They haven't announced a starter yet for this game, but I imagine it will be Jones, who has been their top guy for most of the season. He enters this game boasting a 23-7-3 record, but his numbers aren't very impressive as he is skating to a .896 save percentage.
The Islanders have been very strong defensively, so the Kraken will have to rely on their offense.
Can Horvat and the Islanders Stay Hot?
Are the Islanders on a roll? The New York Islanders have won three straight games, but they are still having a hard time scoring goals. New York has only scored nine goals in its last five games, but it has also only allowed nine goals in that span.
Ilya Sorokin has been this team's backbone all year long, and he is coming off of All-Star weekend. He enters this game with an unimpressive record of 16-16-4 record with a .923 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average. This is exactly why they traded for Bo Horvat, to help improve the team's scoring, and he as one goal and four assists in his last five games.
The good news for the Islanders is that they finally scored a power play goal for the first time in what felt like forever last night. Their man-advantage unit has been the team's weakest link, but adding Horvat to their first unit might be they key puzzle piece that they have been missing.
Even if the Islanders haven't been scoring, they've always been able to rely on their defense and goaltending. They have the sixth-best defense in the league, only allowing 2.68 goals against per game.
I believe in Sorokin, and even though it's the latter of a back-to-back, with him in goal I like their chances.
Kraken vs. Islanders Pick
The Islanders were the much better team last night, as expected, but they have looked really impressive in their last two home games, so they must be excited to get back to UBS Arena where they are 15-9-2 this season.
The Kraken are missing some key players to their lineup like Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz and Justin Schultz, and I also don't necessarily trust their goaltenders going up against Sorokin.
There is a buzz around the Islanders right now, and I like that they have already gotten their legs under them after the All-Star break. I expect the Kraken to come out a little slow tonight since they haven't played a game in a little more than a week.
I think this is all Islanders.
Pick: Islanders ML (-110) |
