Islanders vs. Vegas: Odds, Keys to the Game, TV and more

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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 05: The New York Islanders celebrate the game winning overtime goal by Ryan Pulock #6 against the Vegas Golden Knights at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on December 05, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders head to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights in game two of their four-game road trip. Here’s everything to know about the matchup.

The New York Islanders travel to Vegas for the first time this season to finish their season series with the Golden Knights. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. EST.

The Islanders are seeking a win today after losing 5-0 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Tonight is a great matchup for the Isles to get their road trip back on track and pick up a much needed two points

Related Story. Islanders Goalies Struggle In Shutout 5-0 In Nashville

Vegas is coming into tonight after playing an absolute barn burner against the Blues Thursday night. The game had five goals in the first, two goals in the second and three goals in the third! The game required overtime after regulation ended tied 5-5. In overtime, Vegas got a power play and Jonathan Marchessault scored the game-winner to give Vegas the 6-5 Win.

The crazy stat about that game is Vegas out-shot the Blues 52 to 24!

With that win, Vegas is in third place in the Pacific Division with 66 points in 59 games. They are tied with the second-place Oilers on points (EDM has the tie-breaker) and are three points behind the pacific division leader, Vancouver Canucks.

The Season Series

The last time the Islanders faced the Golden Knights was back on December 5th at the Coliseum and it was a great game to watch.

The first period was extremely tight-checking and no team could find the back of the net. The first period ended scoreless.

Four minutes and 23 seconds into the second, Cal Clutterbuck scored the first goal of the game. He was on a 2 on 1 rush and instead of passing to Casey Cizikas, he took matters into his own hands and beat Malcolm Subban short-side to put the Islanders on the board.

With less than five minutes remaining in the second, Alex Tuch equalized for the Golden Knights and the period ended 1-1. Again in third, the Islanders and Golden Knights traded goals with Brock Nelson scoring for the Isles and Marchessault scoring for Vegas. The game went into overtime tied 2-2.

In overtime, Vegas took a penalty and that was the break the blue and orange needed. On the power play, there was a puck battle in the corner where six out of the seven players of the ice were engaged. The Isles won the battle and passed the puck to the wide-open

Ryan Pulock

at the point. He walked it in and fired the game-winner home to give the

Islanders the 3-2 win!

The Islanders go for the season series sweep tonight!

Tale of the Tape

The Tale of the Tape shows that this should be an even matchup. At the end of the day, once the puck is dropped all of these stats are thrown out.

Betting Odds

The Islanders come into T-Mobile Arena as the underdogs, courtesy of the Action Network.

I can see this game as being extremely similar to the first time these teams met. I expect this game to go down to the wire and one goal will separate these teams:

942. Prediction. 4. 106. 3

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 20: Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders skates with the puck against Nate Schmidt #88 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on December 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Islanders 4-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Keys to the Game

Positive Start

The Islanders cannot afford to go down early as they did in Nashville on Thursday when Craig Smith scored 35 seconds in.

They need a positive start!

A positive start means the Isles need a couple of good shifts to start off the game. They need to start the game with offensive zone time, plenty of shots on net and to limit Vegas shots at their net.

The Islanders do not need to score, but they need to get involved in the game early. A positive start will allow the Islanders to force their game on the Golden Knights and build momentum.

Team Defense

Vegas averages the most shots per game in the NHL with an average of 34.5 per game! With that average of 34.5 shots per game, they also generate 3.14 goals per game on average.

The Islanders need a strong defensive game to walk out with two points at the end of the night. Obviously, they need good goaltending to win this game, but besides the goaltending, the Islanders need a full defensive effort.

The Isles need to limit defensive zone turnovers and stay physical on the speedy Golden Knights. If they can keep the Golden Knights to the outside of the ice, they will have success in this game.

Potential Lineups

New York Islanders

After Thursday night’s showing, the Islanders will definitely be making some changes. I expect Ross Johnston to come back into the lineup to provide a physical spark.

Also, the Islanders will be making a change between the pipes. The Isles have rotated goalies every game since the All-Star break and tonight is no different. Semyon Varlamov will get the start after Thomas Greiss started against the Predators, even though he did not finish the game in Nashville.

The Islanders are expected to line up like this:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle
Beauvillier-Nelson-Bailey
Johnston-Brassard-Dal Colle
Martin-Bardreau-Komarov

Leddy-Boychuck
Toews-Pulock
Dobson-Mayfield

Varlamov (Greiss)

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas will most likely keep the same lineup that they played with on Thursday night. The only change I see them making is in the net. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to get the start in place of Malcolm Subban after Subban let up five goals on 24 shots on Thursday.

Vegas should line up like this:

Marchessault-Stastny-Smith
Pacioretty-Karlsson-Stone
Stephenson-Eakin-Tuch
Carrier-Nosek-Reaves

McNabb-Schmidt
Holden-Theodore
Merrill-Engelland

Fleury (Subban)

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Where to Catch the Game:

TV: MSG+, MSG GO, ESPN+

Radio: 88.7FM, 103.9FM, 1050AM

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