New York Islanders Travel to Los Angeles to Face the Kings Saturday

The New York Islanders are on the road on the opposite coast on Saturday night to take on the Los Angeles Kings inside of the Crypto.com Arena in a non-conference affair. The Islanders are coming in on an off day on Friday while the Kings are on the second half of a back-to-back after being on the road against the Anaheim Ducks. The Islanders are sixth in the Metropolitan Division (18-20-7, 43 points) while the Kings are tied for third in the Pacific Division (26-17-7, 59 points) this season.

This will be the second and final matchup between these teams as the Kings were able to hold onto a 3-2 road victory back in late January.  Let’s dive into centers Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Anze Kopitar to name a few in order to figure out where we should bet. 

Strong Island

The offense has been struggling as a unit as they are averaging 2.44 goals on 28.9 shots per game as they continue to climb out of their horrific start to the year. Center Mathew Barzal has struggled a bit but is leading the Islanders as he has recorded 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) and has recorded four points in his last four games. New York has struggled a bit at scoring on the power play as they are 22nd in the sport with 18.8 percent ending in goals.  

Ilya Sorokin is the starting goalie for the New York Islanders and has been a decent player as he is 15-11-6 with 2.44 goals allowed with a .921 save percentage this season so far. The defense of New York has been decently well as they have allowed 2.71 goals with 31.1 shots per game so far this year. They have done very well at killing penalties as they have killed 82.7 percent of them, which is ninth in the NHL. 

Fit for the Kings

Los Angeles has done well offensively as they have scored 2.86 goals on 35.6 shot attempts this season. Center Anze Kopitar has been doing well for the Kings this year as he is tied for 32nd in points and tied for 18th in assists with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) this season. He has been doing well as he has scored 26 points in home games. Kopitar is dominant as he has scored eight points in his previous five games.  

The defense as a team has given up 2.72 goals on 28.6 shot attempts thus far. It is led by goaltender Jonathan Quick as he is 13-10-6 with 2.61 goals allowed and a .911 save percentage this season. However, the Kings have struggled as they are the fourth-lowest team at penalty kill percentage as they have a 74.6 kill percentage thus far. 

Islanders vs Kings Betting Predictions

Both teams are not scoring the puck as well as they should be recently, as New York is averaging 2.4 goals in their previous five games while Los Angeles is scoring 3.7 goals in their last three games. The Kings have been one of the best teams at covering the spread as they are 31-19 and the Islanders are just 18-27 ATS so far. Both teams have had the under-hit more this year so go with the under as well as the Los Angeles Kings to cover the spread at home. 

All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds are subject to change. All views and picks are my own and not a guarantee so bet at your own risk.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.