Arizona Coyotes vs. New York Islanders – 10/24/2019 Free Pick & NHL Betting Predictions

The Arizona Coyotes aren’t a bad value play on Thursday night as they have played some of the best defense in the NHL this season.

New York tries to defend their home ice in this one after starting the year 3-2 in Uniondale. The Islanders have fared well so far, just 6 points out of 1st in the Metropolitan.

Arizona Coyotes

Arizona comes into Thursday’s game riding some great goaltending play and defense. The Coyotes have the league’s #2 unit in goals allowed at just 1.9 per game.

Darcy Kuemper has been in net for a majority of Arizona’s defensive success this year as he’s posted 4 wins already. Kuemper’s .944 save percentage is 2nd in the league and his 1.68 GAA is 5th overall in the NHL.

The Islanders may get a break in this one as Antti Raanta is listed as the probable starter for Thursday. Raanta has made 2 starts this year, tallying a win and an OT loss. Raanta has a .926 save percentage on the season.

Arizona has had no problems with their defense this season, but can their offense hold up their end of the bargain in this matchup? It’s looking like it as the Coyotes have a 4 game win streak coming into this one while scoring 17 goals over that span.

New York has played well on the defensive end too though, ranking 8th in goals against. If this is indeed a defensive-centric game, the under of 5.5 is looking like a great play.

New York Islanders

Can the Islanders stop the Coyotes’ hot streak? Well yes, considering New York also has a 4 game win streak going. This game comes down to the proverbial “something’s got to give.”

The Arizona offense has been way more potent as of late compared to the Islanders. NYI has won 4 in a row, but they’ve scored 3 goals or less in each of those games. Yet again, that’s another testament to the impressiveness of the Islanders defensive squad.

Arizona has good value as an underdog in this one considering overall the Islanders rank 29th in the league in SOG (28.1). 6 of 8 Islanders games have gone ‘under’ on the total this season.

The Islanders, like Arizona, are slated to start their backup goaltender between the pipes on Thursday. Semyon Varlamov gets the nod for Thomas Greiss. Again, like the Coyotes, Varlamov offers no huge drop off.

Varlamov has made 4 starts this season, holding opponents to 2 goals or less in 3 of those outings. He’ll be up against a Coyote offense that is top 10 in the power play.

NHL Betting Trends:

Coyotes are 4-0 last 4 Thursday games
Coyotes are 3-7 last 10 road games
Coyotes are 2-6 last 8 as a road underdog
Islanders are 6-1 last 7 Thursday games
Islanders are 16-5 last 21 vs. Western Conference
Islanders are 8-3 last 11 after a win
Favorite is 11-3 last 14 meetings

Free New York Islanders vs. Arizona Coyotes NHL Prediction:

This game is essentially a toss-up. Two great defensive teams with some ho-hum offenses. It’s hard to call a side, but the under looks like the play.

4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Under 5.5

Goaltending reigns supreme in this one.

NHL Free Prediction: Coyotes 2 – Islanders 1

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