Welcome back to NHL predictions! Every day, Last Word on Hockey provides insights and analysis to predict the outcome of the games on the NHL schedule. Today, we will examine the matchup between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders. Be sure to check out all of our NHL Predictions as the 2024-25 season moves along.
NHL Predictions
New York Islanders vs Boston Bruins
Head-to-Head: Islanders 1-1 Bruins
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: MSGSN; NESN; ESPN+
The Bruins (27-24-8) will wrap up their four game home-stand when they play host to the Islanders (25-25-7) at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, February 27th. Thursday’s matchup will be the third and final meeting between these two eastern conference foes. The Bruins were victorious in their first meeting on November 27th, beating the Islanders 6-3. However, New York would get their revenge, handing the Bruins a 5-4 overtime loss on TD Garden ice on January 5th. Both teams look to break the tie as they hunt for a massive two points.
Goaltending Needs to be Better for New York
Despite missing their all-star forward, Mathew Barzal, the Islanders are seven points out of a wildcard spot. If the Isles want any chance of making the playoffs, they need to come out of this game with two points. A fifth straight loss would likely end their playoff aspirations.
During their four game skid, the Islanders have allowed four or more goals in every game. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin is struggling at particularly bad time. He was pulled from the net in Tuesday nights game against the New York Rangers after allowing five goals on just 11 shots. This stretch of poor play from Sorokin comes after a terrific stretch where he won seven straight games. The Isles need their goaltender to return to his late January form if they want to come out of this game with two points.
Lucky for them, they could score their way to a win. The Bruins are without their top two defencemen as Charlie McAvoy remains out with a shoulder injury, and Hampus Lindholm has been sidelined since mid November. Without their two best blue liners, Boston becomes even more vulnerable defensively, which could allow scorers like Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, and Bo Horvat to take advantage.
Boston Must Stay Composed and Lean on Pastrnak
Just like the Islanders, the Bruins enter Thursday nights action on a four game losing streak. The B’s are coming off of a devastating defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs where they saw a 3-0 lead vanish, leading to a 5-4 overtime loss. In that game, the Bruins lost their composure and started playing scared once Toronto made it 3-1. In order to get back on track they must be better in high pressure situations and ensure they’re not running around when the puck is in their end.
The black and gold also need to lock in at the end of periods. On Tuesday, Pontus Holmberg scored with 46 seconds left to tie the game at 4, sending it to overtime. Holmberg’s tally marked the 25th time the Bruins have allowed a goal with two minutes or less remaining in a period. This has also occurred in three of their last four games played, going back to their last game before the break against Vegas on February 8th. This cannot happen anymore if Boston wants to make a serious playoff push, it starts with playing with more composure.
Although the team has struggled as of late, superstar David Pastrnak continues to shine. He’s riding a 15 game point streak, the longest of the NHL has seen this season. On his streak, ‘Pasta’ has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points. It seems unlikely the Bruins will create any offence unless their star winger is involved in some way. The 28-year-old must stay hot to get the Bruins back on track with a win.
Prediction
One streak will end while the other will continue. Both of these teams have struggled to stay consistent all season long. With the Islanders struggling to keep the puck out of the net, it may not fair well for them to have to try and contain the hottest player in the league in David Pastrnak. While the Bruins to continue to play without their best defencemen, the Islanders may keep it close. It would be a shock for Boston to lose four straight home games.
Prediction: Bruins win 5-3
Prop Bets of The Night
Brock Nelson has five goals in his last five games against Boston, scoring in four of them. He sits at +220 as an anytime goal scorer. As for the Bruins, the Islanders will do everything they can to shutdown Pastrnak, which could open up opportunities for Morgan Geekie who sits at 19 goals and is searching for his first 20th goal season of his career. Geekie is listed as +250 as an anytime goal scorer. The Bruins are favourites at home at -114.
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Main Photo: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
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