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Islanders vs. Buffalo: NHL Match Prediction
On December 1, the Islanders and Buffalo will cross sticks in New York. The Islanders have lost three games in a row, while Buffalo has not been able to win two games in a row. At the start of November, the meeting between the teams was productive and the then guests, the Isles, were able to earn two points. Now both clubs are outside the playoff zone and are in dire need of points. Who will be able to succeed and improve their position in the Eastern Conference table? We tell you in the forecast for the confrontation
Command Analysis
New York Islanders
USACurrent form
The Islanders have not demonstrated a good offensive game since the first days of the regular season and have shown rather weak results this fall. The New York club has won only five victories in regulation time, having played 21 matches. Now the hosts occupy the tenth line in the East, having scored 22 points. The Islanders are in poor shape and have lost in six of the previous seven matches. The Orange failed the last home series of games and ended it with defeats from Detroit (2:4) and Boston (3:6). The day before, Patrick Roy charges had an excellent opportunity to take points in the US capital (4:5, OT). They were leading with a score of 4:2 after the second break, but failed in the final period and lost in overtime.
The Islanders average only 2.63 goals per game, which is practically the worst team in the conference. Kyle Palmieri remains the hosts' leader in points. The Canadian forward has made 19 effective actions (9+9) and is among the 70 best offensive players in the NHL. He is followed by Bo Horvat, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson, who have scored only 17 times each.
The hosts are not always bad at defense. The goalie duo, consisting entirely of Russians, is gradually getting into shape. Ilya Sorokin became the club number one against the backdrop of the weak play of Semyon Varlamov. It was the latter who let his partners down in the last game against Washington. In total, the Isles' goalies reflected only 89.1% of shots into their possessions.
Disqualifications and injuries
Matthew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Mike Riley and Alex Pelech are all out for the upcoming game, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau is questionable.
Interesting trends for betting
- Statistically, the Islanders take 29 shots on goal per game.
The hosts throw a lot, but convert a modest 8.9% of their attempts.
- The Isles are averaging 5.13 penalty minutes per game.
Anders Lee team can't afford to be penalised because they play terribly when short-handed.
Buffalo Sabres
USACurrent form
Buffalo left the top eight teams in the conference and now occupies only tenth place in the East. The Blades have 24 points after 23 games and are one point behind Philadelphia, which is in eighth place. In the second half of November, the team from the New York suburbs had a strong stretch on the road and after a defeat in Pennsylvania (2:5), they achieved success in Anaheim (3:2, OT), San Jose (4:2) and Los Angeles (1:0). Returning home, Lindy Ruff charges lost to Minnesota (0:1), and the day before they could not cope with the onslaught of Vancouver (3:4, OT). The then hosts saved themselves, rebounding from a score of 1:3, but still lost in overtime, conceding a minute before its end.
At this stage of the season, the Sabres have been doing well defensively, allowing only eight goals in their last five games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remains Buffalo starting goalie, but he will likely be given a rest after the game against the Canucks, giving James Reimer a chance to play. The Canadian has played only one game this fall, stopping .9394% of the shots he faces.
The visitors have big problems in terms of converting their chances in the second half of October. In the last five games, they have only made ten accurate shots in regulation time, and Alex Tuch remains the Sabres' top scorer. The American forward has made 22 effective actions (8+14) and is currently ahead of captain Rasmus Dahlin, who has participated in 19 of the team goals.
Disqualifications and injuries
Jordan Greenway and Mattias Samuelsson will not help the Blades in New York.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Sabres have been receiving nearly 10 minutes of penalty time in recent games.
The visitors are often sent off and therefore often concede when they are short-handed.
- Buffalo blocks 16 shots per game
The Blades' defense doesn't sacrifice itself for the team goalies very often and rarely blocks many shots.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In four of the previous five games involving Buffalo, the first period was scoreless.
1.90Bet 3rd period: Buffalo will score
The Islanders have conceded a goal in the third period for 10 straight games.
1.52Tip and bets
Buffalo was only recently in good shape and was winning games, earning points consistently. In recent games, the Blades lacked some luck and lost by a minimal margin. The Islanders continue to be one of the worst teams in the NHL in terms of converting chances and play very poorly in the final segments of matches. At the beginning of last month, the Islanders managed to upset their opponent in the suburbs of New York. We believe that now Lindy Ruff charges will be better than their competitors in the standings and will return the favor.
Prediction - Buffalo wins the match for 2.10
Bet on individual total
The Islanders have big problems in terms of converting moments and rarely score in large quantities. Buffalo plays well in defense and is able to contain the Islanders' attack. In the five previous matches, the Blades conceded only ten goals in total, so it is unlikely that New York will be able to score four times now. Let play a bet on the individual total of the hosts under.
We take the Islanders' individual total under three goals with a coefficient of 1.73
Total Bet
The last match between the rivals was productive, but before that, in six matches in a row, the teams did not score more than five goals between them. Both clubs play well on their half of the court and do not always achieve success in attack. We do not expect a large number of accurate shots from the match and suggest betting on the total under.
We bet on a total of less than six goals with a coefficient of 1.63
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