The 2021-22 NHL season goes on Saturday, March 5, with the interconference showdown at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, so we have prepared the best Blues vs. Islanders betting pick along with the latest team stats and news.
According to PointsBet NY Sportsbook, the Blues are -130 road favorites for their first meeting with the Islanders in 2021-22. These two foes lock horns for the first time in two years, and the Islanders have won four of their previous five encounters with the Blues.
The Blues just stopped their four-game win streak
The St. Louis Blues (32-15-6) put an end to their four-game winning streak this past Wednesday. They suffered a 5-3 defeat at the New York Rangers, playing as small -115 road favorites. The Blues tallied three quick goals late in the second period to grab a 3-2 lead, but the Rangers bounced back with three unanswered goals in the third period.
Ville Husso guarded the cage at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan NY and yielded four goals on 28 shots. He’s now 13-4-2 with an excellent 2.13 GAA and .931 save percentage, while Jordan Binnington has a 13-10-3 record, 3.12 GAA, and .904 save percentage. It’s still unknown who’ll get the starting call Saturday at UBS Arena.
The Blues allow 2.72 goals per game (6th in the NHL). Their penalty-killing percentage of 84.5 is the fifth-best in the league. St. Louis scores 3.57 goals per game (5th) on an 11.6 shooting percentage (1st), recording the second-best power-play percentage in the NHL (26.4%).
The Islanders lost four of their last five contests
The New York Islanders (20-23-8) are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks this past Thursday. It was their second loss in a row and fourth in their last five outings at any location, as the Islanders blew a 3-2 third-period lead.
Semyon Varlamov patrolled the crease and yielded four goals on 38 shots. The 33-year-old netminder is now winless in five straight starts. Ilya Sorokin is expected to guard the cage against the Blues, and he’s 17-12-7 with a 2.42 GAA and .922 save percentage in 2021-22.
The Islanders surrender 2.76 goals per game (8th in the NHL), but they score only 2.55 in a return (tied-27th). New York ranks eighth in the league in penalty killing (82.4%) and 23rd in power-play percentage (17.2%).
Trends:
St. Louis:
4-1 in the last five games overall
6-3 in the last nine games on the road
NY Islanders:
3-8 in the last 11 games overall
1-4 in the last five games against the Western Conference
St. Louis Blues vs. New York Islanders Pick
The Blues have played very well in the last couple of weeks. Since a shocking 3-2 overtime loss at the lowly Montreal Canadiens on February 17, the Blues have gone 4-1, scoring 22 goals in the process and yielding just ten in a return.
St. Louis looks like one of the best teams in the league on both sides of the ice. The Blues should have enough firepower to deal with the Islanders’ defense. New York is without its best player, as Mathew Barzal is struggling with a lower-body injury, so I’m backing the Blues to win this game.
Pick: Take St. Louis Blues at -130
The Total:
Both Blues and Islanders are capable of playing tough defense, so I’m not expecting a high-scoring affair at UBS Arena. Ilya Sorokin has done a solid job for the Islanders so far this season. On the other side, both Husso and Binnington have played well lately, and whoever gets the nod should be able to cope with the Islanders’ offense.
Seven of the last ten encounters between the Blues and Islanders have gone under the total. Also, the under is 5-0 in their previous five dates in New York.
Pick: Go under 5.5 goals at -115
