It’s an interconference tilt on the ice as a pair of teams looking to pick up a couple points in the standings meet in the Beehive State. The New York Islanders are on the road as they travel west to face the Utah Hockey Club Saturday night. New York skates in off a 4-0 blanking of Vegas on the road Thursday night in their previous game. Utah edged San Jose 2-1 at home Friday night in the front half of a back-to-back set. In the last 10 meetings between the teams, the Islanders own a 6-3-1 advantage but it was Utah prevailing 5-4 in overtime on the road in the first meeting this season October 10, 2024.
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Who will win this matchup? Read more about this Islanders vs. Hockey Club prediction!
New York Seeking Third Straight Win
New York earned a second straight victory with a solid performance on both ends against Vegas on the road Thursday night. The Islanders entered Saturday tied for seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-18-7 record, 20 points behind the Capitals for the top spot in the division. They were 15 back of the Hurricanes and Devils for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the division. New York is 26th in goals per game as they average 2.68 goals per contest. The Islanders are 18th in goals against per game as they allow 3.10 goals a night. New York is 32nd in power play success as they convert 10.9% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Islanders are 32nd in penalty killing as they successfully get through 64.4% of their shorthanded situations this year.
Against Vegas, New York took care of business on both ends of the ice and that allowed them to leave Sin City with a convincing victory on the ledger. The Islanders were outshot 8-6 in the opening period of play but skated off with a 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard at the first intermission. Anders Lee provided the only goal the Islanders would need on the night with his 19th goal of the season at 17:04 off an assist from Brock Nelson. In the second period, New York was outshot 11-6 but outscored Vegas 2-0 to take a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. Nelson made it a 2-0 game with his 11th goal of the year at 5:30 off assists from Mathew Barzal and Alexander Romanov. Bo Horvat gave New York a 3-0 edge with his 13th goal of the year at 10:41 off assists from Kyle Palmieri and Romanov. The third period saw New York being outshot 11-9 but they scored the only goal of the period to secure the win. Casey Cizikas hit the empty net for his fourth goal of the season at 17:26 off assists from Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Noah Dobson. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves for the Islanders, who were outshot 30-21, to earn the shutout win. He’s the likely starter in net for New York here.
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Hockey Club Closing Back-to-Back Set
Utah had gone just 1-5-2 in their previous eight games but did enough offensively to win a low-scoring affair with San Jose at home Friday night. The Hockey Club improved to 18-16-7 on the season and stood sixth in the Central Division, 16 points behind the Jets for the top spot in the division. They were 10 points back of the Avalanche and Stars, who are tied for the final guaranteed playoff spot. Utah is tied for 22nd in the league in goals per game as they average 2.85 goals a night this season. The Hockey Club is 13th in goals against as they allow an average of three goals per game on the year. Utah is 15th in the league in power play success as they convert 22.3% of their chances with the man advantage this season. The Hockey Club is 14th in the league in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 80.1% of their shorthanded situations.
There wasn’t a ton of offense Friday night but Utah did enough to best the Sharks and pick up a win on home ice. The opening period saw Utah hold an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal only to trail 1-0 on the scoreboard after 20 minutes of play. In the second period, the Hockey Club owned a 6-3 advantage in shots and scored the only goal of the stanza to tie the game at one at the second intermission. Nick Schmaltz tied the game with his seventh goal of the season at 5:57 with assists going to Clayton Keller and Nick DeSimone. Utah held a 9-8 advantage in shots in the third period and scored the lone goal of the period to earn the win. Barrett Hayton bagged the winner with his eighth goal of the year at 18:28 off assists from Nick Bjugstad and Olli Maatta. Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves for Utah, who held a 26-19 advantage in shots on goal, in the win. Connor Ingram is expected to get the call here in the second game of a back-to-back for Utah between the pipes.
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Best Bets for N.Y. Islanders vs. Utah Hockey Club
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
New York gets a slight rest advantage, having had Friday night off after beating Vegas Thursday. Meanwhile, Utah had to play Friday night against San Jose so they play the second game of a back-to-back set here, though at least the game with the Sharks was at home. The Islanders have won two straight with wins over Boston and Vegas on the road. Sorokin was stellar in his shutout win over Utah and one has to think the Hockey Club will be a little fatigued here. As long as the Islanders don’t implode on special teams, they should be in good shape. That did them in during the first meeting at home as New York was one of six with the man advantage while Utah cashed in both power play opportunities. With the Hockey Club tired, New York capitalizes and Sorokin slams the door to give a win to the visitors.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
New York has gotten solid goaltending of late, allowing a total of 11 goals in their last five games, with four of those coming in a win over the Bruins. The Islanders held Toronto to three and two goals, respectively, in a home-and-home set while blanking Vegas in that stretch. Utah has been stingy themselves of late with their goaltenders allowing 12 goals while posting a .916 save percentage during that stretch. Each team has recorded four unders in their last five games and are below average when it comes to lighting the lamp this season. Utah has seven unders in their last 10 games heading into this game. Don’t expect a high-scoring affair like the first meeting: take the under in this contest.
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