Los Angeles Kings vs New York Islanders Betting Preview
Hockey handicapper JM Sports breaks down tonight’s Los Angeles Kings vs New York Islanders showdown in Washington on Thursday, January 27. At the time of posting, the Islanders have opened as a -145 home favorite over the visiting Kings, with the total sitting at 5.5 goals.
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Thursday, January 27 | NHL Betting Notes |
---|---|
Moneyline: | Los Angeles Kings +125 / New York Islanders -145 |
Puckline: | Kings +1.5 (-200) / Islanders -1.5 (+170) |
Total: | 5.5 Goals |
Game Time: | 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT |
Arena: | UBS Arena in Elmont, NY |
TV: | ESPN+ |
Los Angeles Kings vs New York Islanders Analysis
Thursday night sets up a match up in New York, one team is over .500, positive in the goal differential, while the other team is under .500, and negative in the goal differential. One team is in 3rd place in their division and just five points behind 1st, while the other team is in 6th in their division and 24 points behind 1st!
Hard to believe that the team that is in 3rd place, noticeably over .500 and positive in the goal differential is Los Angeles and they are the underdog as they head to New York. New York is (-140) on the money line, but there is no question that they are the hotter team recently.
New York Islanders
New York takes the ice at home in UBS arena as they look to continue their 7-2-1 run in the last 10 games. This team ranks #29 in goals per game, putting up just 2.4 on average, but in the last 10 games, they are averaging almost three goals per game and allowing just two. New York is already one of the best team on the defensive side of the ice, sitting at #5 in the league allowing just 2.6 goals per game.
While the defense has played a big part in that ranking, they also have multiple means of support in the net. It looks as though Ilya Sorokin will be in the net for New York, and they have taken the win in five straight game with him in the net, yet all five of those games have been played on the road. While the team has put together the 2nd best save percentage in the NHL (91.7% as a team), Sorokin has stopped over 96% of shots against non-conference opponents this season.
New York comes into this match-up 32-12 in the last 44 games at home in the 2nd half of the season over the last two years, including a 6-2 record in the last eight games at home overall. The Islanders are also 6-1 in the last seven games against an opponent that scored two or fewer goals in their previous game, as Los Angeles has done in three of their last five games.
Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles has struggled, there is no way around that, they have lost four of their last five games and are just 5-4-1 in their last 10. In the past few years, hearing that Jonathon Quick was in the net would have been a confidence booster for the team backing him, yet recently it has almost seemed like a liability. Los Angeles is just 1-3 in his last four starts in the net and he has allowed 13 goals in those four starts.
The team has played a little better with Quick in the net on the road, winning three out of his last five starts outside of Los Angeles. In Quick’s defense, this offense is #22 in goals per game on the year (2.767), but in the last five games they are averaging just 2.4 goals and allowing over 4 goal per game on average! While Los Angeles comes in ranked #4 in the league in shots (35.44 per game), the have failed to capitalize and this team slowly starts to drift in the wrong direction.
Los Angeles is playing their 27th game as an underdog already this season and in their last 55 match-ups as a dog, they are just 18-37. Although, they are 14-7 against non-conference opponents this year, 5-0 in the last 5 games against a team under .500 and 5-1 int heir last six games coming off an outing where they put up two or less goals. Los Angeles looks to pump the brakes on the downhill spiral, and return their winning ways as they chase Vegas for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
Los Angeles Kings vs New York Islanders Prediction
These two teams have a history, Los Angeles has lost five straight games on the road against the Islanders, adding to the running total of a 9-1 record for the home team in head-to-head match-ups. The one thing that these two teams have in common is their recent trend of staying under the total, back to 1996 these two teams have combined for an average score of 5.4 goals per game, perfectly in line with a 5.5 goal total coming into Thursday nights match-up.
When looking at the sides in this game, it is a bet that I am staying away from, in my opinion Los Angeles as a dog is tempting, seeing as I believe they truly are the better team. Yet when you look at how New York has performed recently, they are playing like they are the better team, I believe Los Angeles will turn things around before seasons end, but when they will do start that is yet to be seen.
Opinion : UNDER 5.5 goals ; I am taking the under in this one, while Jonathon Quick has given up his fair share of goals, Los Angeles has gone under the total in 10 of their last 13 road games, while New York has gone under the total in seven of the last nine games overall.
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Hockey Betting 101
Thanks to the expansion of sports betting offerings, bettors can now take advantage of a variety of point spread options in hockey:
Period Pucklines – Instead of the traditional -1.5 / +1.5 pucklines for the full game, a period puckline is displayed with -0.5 / +0.5. Betting on the favorite with the period puckline requires them to out-score their opponent in that period. Betting on the underdog with the +0.5 head start allows the bet to cash if the two teams are tied after that individual period.
Reverse Pucklines – The reverse puckline gives the favorite a +1.5 head start and turns the underdog into the -1.5 role. Bettors might be intrigued by this option if they are looking at an underdog they think might win by 2+ goals at a very juicy price.
Alternate Pucklines – The alternate puckline bumps the point spread from 1.5 to 2.5 goals. So the favorite has to win the game by three or more goals, and the underdog can now lose the game by two goals and still cash a bet on the alternate puckline.
Check out Sportsmemo’s Sports Betting Guides for more information.
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