New Jersey Devils Vs. New York Islanders Odds, Picks, and Predictions (1/13/22)

The New York Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, January 13^th at the beautiful new UBS Arena in Belmont, NY.  The last game the Islanders played was on January 1^st against the Edmonton Oilers as all their games since have been postponed due to COVID-19 issues.  New York is 10-12-6 with 26 points and in eighth place in the Metropolitan Division.  The Devils have not played since Saturday, January 8^th, falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3.  New Jersey is 14-17-15 with 33 points and is in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.  The Devils are 9-25 in their last 34 meetings with the Islanders.

New Jersey Devils Vs. New York Islanders Betting Odds

The Devils are 7-25 in their last 32 games when playing on two days’ rest.  Over is 11-0 in New Jersey’s last 11 road games.  Over is 4-1 in the Devils last five games vs. Eastern Conference opponents.  The Islanders are 1-5 in their last six game vs. Metropolitan Division teams.  Under is 4-1 in New York’s last five games overall.  The teams have split their two meeting this season; New Jersey has outscored New York 6-4 in those games.

New Jersey Devils Betting Odds

The Devils are scoring 2.9 goals per game, ranking them 18^th in the NHL.  Defensively, they’re allowing 3.4 goals per game which ranks 26^th in the league.

With all the COVID-19 issues within the Devils organization the lineup has been a revolving door of players. Their game on Monday evening against the Lightning was postponed.

Jesper Bratt was placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocol on Saturday and is out indefinitely.  He leads the team in scoring with 32 points (10 goals and 22 assists).  Captain Nico Hischier has four goals in his last five games.  In 2021-22, he’s a plus three with 21 points in 30 games.  Number one overall pick in the 2019 entry draft, center Jack Hughes, is a superstar in waiting if he can stay healthy.  In 19 games this campaign, he has 20 points (nine goals and 11 assists).

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton one of the prized free agent signees this past off-season has played well in his first season as a Devil leading the defense in scoring with 20 points.  He has 47 blocked shots and 38 hits on the season, but he broke his jaw in early January and is out indefinitely.  Damon Severson has 48 blocked shots and 36 hits on the season, while chipping in 15 points.  He was placed in the league’s COVID-19 protocol this past Sunday and is out.  Ryan Graves is the healthiest and most reliable defenseman on the Devils roster at this point in the season.  He has 13 points (three goals and 10 assists), while blocking 61 shots and recording 36 hits in 2021-22.  Not to be forgotten is former Norris Trophy winner (2013) P.K. Subban who’s not the dominant player he once was, but can make the necessary play when needed

Mackenzie Blackwood has started the last six games in goal for the Devils: he’ 4-2 in those contests, winning two of those games in overtime.  He’s currently listed as questionable for the game against the Islanders.

New York Islanders Betting Odds

New York is scoring 2.3 goals per game, ranking them 30^th in the NHL.  On the defensive side of the puck, they’re allowing 2.8 goals per game which ranks 11^th in the league.

The Islanders are truthfully the most disappointing team in the NHL. New York entered the 2021-22 season as +2000 to win their fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history, but ever since the disastrous start to the season, they’re now +7000 to win the championship. 

Head Coach Barry Trotz was placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday and isn’t expected to be on the bench against the Devils.

Matthew Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring with 21 points (six goals and 15 assists).  He’s scored six goals on even strength and has eight assists on the power play (leading the Islanders) in 2021-22.  In 341 career games, the young center has 273 points (82 goals and 191 assists).  Captain, Anders Lee, and Brock Nelson are tied for the team lead in goals with 10 each.  Nelson has had a tough season as he was out nearly three weeks due to a lower body injury and battled COVID-19. 

Noah Dobson is leading New York’s defensive group with 14 points (five goals and nine assists); with five points on the power play.  Additionally, he has blocked a team leading 54 shots and recorded 34 hits on the season.  Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Andy Greene have a combined for 134 blocked shots and 95 hits this season. 

The goalie combination of Ilya Sorkin and Semyon Varlamov have a combined .920 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA.  Goaltending is not the reason the Islanders have struggled this season, their inability to put the puck in the net consistently has been the issue.

New Jersey Devils Vs. New York Islanders Picks & Prediction

The Islanders have not played a game in almost two weeks, they last played on 1/1/22 against the Oilers and it’ll be interesting to see how they start the game.  The Devils are one of the hardest hit teams in the NHL affected by COVID-19.  Their defense is depleted, this could be the game the Islanders breakout a bit offensively.  I’ll take New York in this game at under 5.5 goals due to their fresh legs and the COVID-19 issues that are facing the Devils.