Los Angeles Kings vs New York Islanders 2/26/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings meet in NHL action from the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.

The New York Islanders will look to rebound from a 4-3 shootout loss to San Jose last time out. Mathew Barzal leads New York with 36 points split between 12 goals and a team-high 24 assists while Josh Bailey has 22 points with 19 assists and Oliver Wahlstrom has 19 points with 10 goals and 9 assists. Adam Pelech also has a team-best +14 plus/minus rating for the Isles while Brock Nelson has a team-high 19 goals this season. Ilya Sorokin has gone 16-11-7 with a 2.44 GAA and a .920 save percentage this season.

The Los Angeles Kings will look to build on their four-game win streak after a 4-1 win over Anaheim last time out. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings in scoring with 49 points including a team-high 34 assists and 15 goals while Alex Iafallo has 14 goals, logging 28 points and Adrian Kempe’s point total is at 36 with a team-high 25 goals of his own. Jonathan Quick’s gone 14-10-6 with a 2.55 GAA and a .913 save percentage this season between the pipes for the Kings while Cal Petersen’s gone 13-7-1 with a 2.68 GAA and a .898 save percentage.

New York is 5-21 in their last 26 games against a team with a winning record and 0-4 in their last 4 games against a road underdog while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Los Angeles is 10-1 in their last 11 games against a team with a losing record and 9-2 in their last 11 games as a favorite while the under is 5-1-1 in their last 7 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.

I get the case to be made for the Isles as Los Angeles is on the back-to-back, but the Kings are playing the far better hockey right now and I don’t think the Islanders have what it takes offensively to keep up here with the confident Kings. I’ll side with the Kings laying the cheap price at home here.