Liontips
Islanders vs. Columbus: NHL Match Prediction
The Islanders continue their home series, which began with two defeats in a row. Patrick Roy team beat one of the outsiders of the West in the last match, but now a rather strong team will come to New York. On January 21, Columbus will take to the ice at UBS Arena, which continues its tough fight to get into the playoffs. The Jackets occupy the eighth line in the conference and intend to consolidate in the top eight. Will they succeed? Read about it in the betting tip for the meeting
Command Analysis
New York Islanders
USACurrent form
The Islanders have again moved away from the playoff zone and are still in the basement of the Eastern Conference standings. New York is in 15th place with 43 points after 45 games. With the onset of winter, the Islanders have improved the quality of their game somewhat and have earned a little more than half of the points in games this winter. After a series of defeats towards the end of 2024, Patrick Roy men went on an away tour and showed themselves well on the road. They beat Boston (5:4, OT), Vegas (4:0), and before returning to the ice at UBS Arena, they achieved success in Salt Lake (2:1). The Isles were unable to beat the Ottawa goalie and lost to the Sens (0:2), and a day later they lost heavily to Philadelphia (3:5). They managed to interrupt the losing streak only in the last match against San Jose (4:1).
New York has regained its status as the conference lowest scoring team. The Islanders still look rather lackluster in attack. In their last seven games, they have only made 18 accurate shots, although they have managed to score seven goals in the last two games. The club leading scorer is only 64th in the league overall list. Anders Lee, as captain, has made a big contribution to the result and has made 36 effective actions (20+16).
Semyon Varlamov is still in the visitors' infirmary, but Ilya Sorokin also recently fell ill and returned to the ice only in the game against Philadelphia. In the previous match, Marcus Hogberg came out on the ice, stopped 30 shots on his goal and was generally quite reliable. It is likely that we will see Sorokin again this time.
Disqualifications and injuries
Hudson Fasching, Alexander Romanov, Maxim Tsyplakov and Mike Riley will not be able to participate in the upcoming meeting. The participation of Simon Hallstrom and Semyon Varlamov is questionable.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Islanders are winning 55% of their faceoffs.
The Islanders are good at this metric and take most of the faceoffs.
- The hosts earn only 5.36 penalty minutes per match.
New York takes very few penalties and plays with extreme discipline.
Columbus Blue Jackets
USACurrent form
The Jackets are gradually recovering from a long slump and have shown strong results lately. The team from Ohio State has risen to eighth place in the East and is determined to stay in the playoff zone. Columbus has 51 points after 46 games, while the Blue Jackets have lost only three times since December 22. The new year began for Dean Evason charges with a successful series of games on home ice. Now the visitors have a streak of seven games with points, and it was interrupted only in the last meeting against the Rangers (0:1, B). Before that, Zach Werenski team won at home against Philadelphia (3:2, B) and San Jose (4:1).
Columbus remains one of the league most conceding teams, scoring an average of 3.37 goals against the Blazers on the road. Zach Werenski team rarely pleases fans with reliable play, but in their last six starts, they have allowed only six goals. Elvis Merzlikin has appeared on the ice 29 times, but has made only one shutout this season. Daniil Tarasov got his chance in the last match and made great use of it. The Russian stopped 27 shots and only allowed a goal in the shootout.
Kirill Marchenko is very good this season and the Russian has already scored 49 points (18+31) in the goal+pass system. He was again surpassed by defenseman Zach Werenski, who assists his teammates more often than others and made 51 effective actions (15+36). Sean Monahan is eight points behind Marchenko, but the Canadian is currently in the infirmary and cannot help his teammates.
Disqualifications and injuries
Columbus has four players in the infirmary: Egor Chinakhov, Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson, Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan.
Interesting trends for betting
- On average, Columbus allows 3.57 goals per game.
The club main problem remains its weak defensive play.
- The Blazers converted 21.8% of their power play attempts.
The team is distinguished by its good play with a one-player advantage and consistently takes advantage of opponents' removals.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In six of the Islanders' eight games, the first period was scoreless.
1.92Bet 2nd period: Islanders to score
The Isles have scored in the second period in four of their last seven games.
1.35Tip and bets
Columbus has gained excellent form and improved its defensive play. In recent matches, the Blazers have conceded very little and lost only one match out of seven. The Islanders, on the other hand, started their home series very poorly and were able to beat only one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Patrick Roy team can hardly realistically claim to get into the playoffs this season. As for the visitors, they should reach the final part of the tournament, but for this they need to continue winning. We think that the team from Ohio will win. We suggest betting on their victory with a zero handicap.
Our prediction is Columbus victory with Asian handicap (0) for 2.47
Bet on individual total
The Islanders remain the weakest team in the conference in terms of offensive quality. The New York team scores only 2.69 goals per game, and it is impossible to say that the hosts are in their best form right now. Columbus has missed a lot, but has now worked on its mistakes and looks much more reliable on its half of the court.
Prediction - Islanders individual total under three goals for 1.85
Bet on total
New York plays with a constant eye on its goal and tries to concede as few goals as possible. Matches involving Anders Lee team are rarely productive and delight with a large number of goals. Now the islanders will be visited by a team that has gradually switched to a defensive style of play and has not been showing bright hockey lately. Let play a bet on the total under goals.
Betting Tip - total under 5.5 goals for 1.95
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