Islanders vs Bruins preview: Betting odds, lineups, TV, and more

The New York Islanders face off against the Boston Bruins for the fifth time this season. So far the Isles are an incredible 4-0-0 against the Bruins. But the B’s will be buoyed by the return of a few key players to the lineup.

David Pastrnak, David Krejci, and Craig Smith all came of the COVID Protocol list earlier today. It also coincides with the return of the Bruins to the ice for the first time in a week. Their last game was a 4-1 win over the Sabres on March 18. That should have the black and gold feeling pretty good.

But will that makeup for that lack of game time? The Islanders haven’t had a problem with the Bruins all year, even when healthy and in game shape. The Bruins haven’t played in a week, what kind of shape will they be in compared to ready Islanders squad?

We’ll see tonight.

The New York Islanders hope to continue good run against Boston Bruins

Tuesday was the first time the Islanders lost a game since February 27th and it will be interesting to see how they respond against a Flyers team who are coming off their worst loss of the season.

The last time the Isles and Flyers met was the last weekend of January. These sides played a two-game set in Philadelphia and the Flyers won both games in overtime.

Tale of the Tape

Odds

The Islanders come into today as the underdog, courtesy of the Action network.

At the time of writing the Isle are +106 to win tonight. The Bruins line is -114. The Bruins are the home team, so already they’ll get a boost. Being 7-3-1 at home also helps odd-makers place the Bruins as the favorite.

But at +106 there’s some hesitance there. And that’s thanks to the Isles 4-0-0 record against the Bruins this year.

Projected Lineups

The Islanders won’t likely change the way they set up their lineup as they travel to Boston. Although they probably should.

Leo Komarov could very well remain on the top line with Barzal and Eberle. He doesn’t add much to the trio so changing him for Kieffer Bellows would certainly make sense, but Barry likes to roll out his veterans. There’s also the whole Brad Marchand angle we can’t forget about.

Thomas Hickey is also likely to remain on the third pair with Andy Greene after an impressive return to the lineup.

Komarov-Barzal-Eberle
Dal Colle-Nelson-Bailey
Beauvillier-Pageau-Wahlstrom
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Pulock
Leddy-Mayfield
Greene-Hickey

Varlamov (Sorokin)

The Bruins haven’t hit the ice since last week with a number of players on the COVID protocol list. As of Wednesday, only two players remained on the list: Jake DeBrusk and Sean Kuraly. That means they’ll have a few of those players back in the lineup.

Here’s how they might line up tonight according to Fluto Shinizawa:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Ritchie-Krejci-Smith
Bjork-Coyle-Kuhlman
Frederic-McKegg-Wagner

Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Zboril-Clifton
Tinordi-Kampfer

Rask

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Where to Catch the Game

TV: MSG+2, MSG GO APP, NESN, NHLNetwork
Radio: 88.7FM 103.9FM
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*