Islanders vs. Stars: Betting odds, lineups, Must win for playoff spot

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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: Jamie Benn #14 of the Dallas Stars goes up against Johnny Boychuk #55 of the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on December 13, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Stars defeated the Islanders 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders take on the Dallas Stars in Brooklyn tonight. An Islanders loss may see them on the outside looking in on the playoffs.

For the first time since October, the New York Islanders can be out of the playoff picture tonight with a loss to the Stars and a Hurricanes win. Yes, I know the Islanders have two games in hand on Carolina, but a loss to the second-best defensive team in hockey could have the Islanders on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

The Islanders are trying to split their season series with the Stars after falling in their first meeting, 3-1, in the “Big D”. Dallas is playing their second game of a back to back, in which they won the first game against the Rangers 5-3. In the Islanders last five games against the Stars, the Islanders are 1-4-0.

Maybe with a tired Dallas team, the Isles can even out the series and stay in the playoff picture.

Tale of the Tape

The New York Islanders are, oddly enough, the more offensive team in this matchup. The Dallas Stars are one of the only teams to also be in a playoff position but have a worse offense than the Isles with 2.63 goals-for per game.

Betting Odds

The blue and orange are favorites tonight with a -125 money line courtesy of the Action Network. The Islanders are on home ice and are well-rested, having only played one game after their bye week.

Meanwhile, the Stars are playing their fifth game since the All-Star break and their third straight game on the road. They have posted a great record, at 4-1-0, but fatigue might be an issue for them in this one.

With the Dallas Stars playing red-hot hockey, they make a good argument to say away from betting on the favorites in this one.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 23: Mason Jobst #66 and Kieffer Bellows #20 of the New York Islanders celebrate a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on September 23, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Red wings 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Players to Watch

LW. . New York Islanders. . Kieffer Bellows

The former 2016 19th overall pick, Kieffer Bellows is in line to make his NHL debut tonight. The 21-year-old debut is highly anticipated for many Islander fans and many see Bellows as an answer to the Islanders recent offense struggles.

Trotz: Bellows will play tonight.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) February 4, 2020

Bellows can add extra to the struggling third line and his debut should be fun to watch. At the very least he can act as some sort of lightning rod for underperforming players.

To find out what Bellows can bring to the table please read: Islanders: What to Expect From Kieffer Bellows

C. . Dallas Stars. . Joe Pavelski

Joe Pavelski has been on an absolute tear for the Stars on their road trip in the Tri-State Area. On Saturday night, he scored the Overtime winner against the Devils and last night he scored goals 16 seconds apart to help the Stars take down the Rangers.

The 35-year-old power forward still has a lot to offer in the NHL and is finally looking to hit his stride. Before this road trip, he only eight goals but in two games so far he has boosted that total to eleven.

The Dallas Stars number 16 looks hungry for goals and look for him to get to work in the “dirty areas” to add to his season tally.

Lineups

New York Islanders

After last Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Isles are not expected to make many changes to the lineup. One change is definitely guaranteed because of the arrival of Kieffer Bellows. Most likely we will see Tom Kuhnhackl who played 6:47 against the Canucks on the scratched list.

Also, it looks like Semyon Varlamov will get the start after Thomas Greiss picked up the loss on Saturday.

Looks like Kuhnhackl, Johnston and Aho are the scratches tonight. Staying on for extra work with Greiss.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) February 4, 2020

The Islanders should look like this tonight:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle
Beauvillier-Nelson-Bailey
Bellows-Brassard-Dal Colle
Martin-Cizikas-Komarov

Leddy-Pulock
Toews-Mayfield
Dobson-Boychuck

Varlamov (Greiss)

Dallas Stars

After playing last night, I only expect Dallas to be making one change and that is in-between the pipes. Ben Bishop, who’s been great against the Islanders for the Stars gets the start with Anthon Khudobin playing against the Rangers last night.

Benn-Hintz-Seguin
Janmark-Pavelski-Radulov
Cogliano-Faksa-Comeau
Gurianov-Dickinson-Perry

Lindell-Klingberg
Oleksiak-Heiskanen
Sekera-Johns

Bishop (Khudobin)

Dallas has one of the best defensive teams in the NHL and against a struggling Isles offense, tonight can be a low scoring affair.

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