Edmonton Oilers (18-12-1) vs. New York Islanders (9-12-6)
January 1, 2022 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: New York Islanders -115 / Edmonton Oilers -105; Over/Under: -6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders meet Saturday in NHL action at the UBS Arena. The Edmonton Oilers need a win after losing eight of their last 10 games. The New York Islanders look for a win after splitting their last eight games.
The Edmonton Oilers are averaging 3.4 goals per game and are scoring on 31.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Leon Draisaitl leads Edmonton with 24 goals, Connor McDavid has 33 assists and Darnell Nurse has 90 shots on goal. Defensively, the Edmonton Oilers are allowing 3.1 goals per game and are killing 82.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Mikko Koskinen has allowed 54 goals on 553 shots faced, and Stuart Skinner has allowed 25 goals on 299 shots.
The New York Islanders are averaging 2.3 goals per game and are scoring on 17.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Brock Nelson leads New York with 10 goals, Mathew Barzal has 14 assists and Oliver Wahlstrom has 65 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Islanders are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 81.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Ilya Sorokin has given up 46 goals on 618 shots faced, and Semyon Varlamov has allowed 24 goals on 267 shots.
The Oilers are 16-6 in their last 22 games playing on 0 days rest and 5-1 in their last 6 Saturday games. The Islanders are 3-8 in their last 11 home games and 4-14 in their last 18 overall. The under is 5-2-1 in Oilers last 8 overall. The under is 7-3 in Islanders last 10 home games. The Oilers are 3-10 in the last 13 meetings in New York and 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
The Edmonton Oilers are on the end of a back to back, but they have thrived in spots like this dating back to last year, so I’m not worried about the quick turnaround. The New York Islanders are a team I’ve liked the last few years, and they’re showing signs of righting the ship, but I still need to see more progress before I can back them with confidence, especially against winning teams. I’ll take the Oilers and the cheap price here.
