Detroit (24-16-8) at NY Islanders (25-15-6)
When: Monday, January 25th 2016
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Time: 7:05 ET | TV: FSN Detroit, MSG Plus
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The New York Islanders look to keep their roll going in their last game before the All-Star break when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. New York has registered a point in four straight games going 3-0-1 in that span. Saturday’s game against Philadelphia was postponed due to the snow storm on the East Coast, but beat Ottawa 5-2 on Friday. Captain John Tavares registered a goal and an assist in the victory and now has four points in his last four games – breaking out of a mini-slump. The Islanders have now killed 22-straight power plays and are second in the league killing 87.9% of them. Kyle Okposo leads the team in points (35), just ahead of Tavares (33) while Brock Nelson leads the squad in goals with 18 including four in his last four games. Defenseman Travis Hamonic returned to the lineup Friday after a four-game absence due to a lower-body injury and had a goal and an assist. Fellow defenseman Nick Leddy has also heated up scoring twice in the last three games and leads all Islander defensemen with 18 points. Goalie Jaroslav Halak has allowed a total of four goals in his last three games and is expected to go tonight.
The Red Wings have won just twice in their last six games (2-3-1), but have won six of their last seven on the road. Detroit is 1-2-0 since top defenseman Niklas Kronwall went down with a knee injury that will keep him out two-to-four weeks. Detroit has struggled on the power play, going 1-for-15 over its last four games, and sits 23rd in the league at 17.1%. The Red Wings are also 22nd in the NHL in scoring at just 2.44 goals a game. Captain Henrik Zetterberg has recorded a pair of goals in his last three games and is tied with rookie Dylan Larkin for the team lead with 32 points. Petr Mrazek, who has given up seven goals over his last seven games, is expected back in net for the Red Wings after resting in the 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Saturday. This will also be Detroit’s last game before the break and they are tied with the Lightning and Islanders for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, three points clear of Pittsburgh. Detroit will go back on the road right after the All-Star Game and play both Florida teams before returning home to face the Islanders again.
The Red Wings seem to be more comfortable on the road right now and their captain is starting to get hot. I’ll take the underdog in this one.
Pick: Red Wings +122
