New Jersey Devils vs New York Islanders
- Game: New Jersey Devils vs New York Islanders
- Date: Friday, October 20, 2023
- Location: UBS Arena in Elmont, NY
- TV: MSG
- Odds/Point Spread: Devils (+100) Islanders (-125)
Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook (USA), Bodog Sportsbook (Canada)
The New Jersey Devils (1-1-1) are set to face off against the New York Islanders (2-0-0) at UBS Arena on Friday. The Devils are listed as +100 underdogs, while the Islanders come in as -125 favorites. The betting total is set at 7.
In their previous game, the New Jersey Devils suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Panthers, accumulating 10 penalty minutes. They scored 2 goals on 34 shots and had a middle-of-the-road performance overall.
While playing at even strength, the Devils have scored 5 goals and allowed 5 goals. They have had 15 penalty kill opportunities, allowing 5 goals, and have scored 10 goals on 97 shots attempted, giving them a shooting percentage of 10.3%. Their points percentage stands at .500, with 3 points earned. The Devils have faced 98 shots and have a save percentage of .898. On the power play, they have converted 5 out of 16 chances, resulting in a 31.25% success rate.
The Devils will have Vitek Vanecek in goal, who has a record of 75-34-14 in his career. He has faced 3,546 shots, making 3,222 saves for a save percentage of .909. Vanecek has 69 quality starts and a quality start percentage of .552.
In their last game, the New York Islanders secured a 1-0 victory over the Coyotes. They scored 1 goal on 34 shots in the game.
The Islanders have scored 3 even-strength goals and 1 power play goal this season. They have attempted 63 shots, resulting in a shooting percentage of 6.35%, while allowing 42 shots. They have tallied 4 goals, 4 points, and a points percentage of 1.000. Defensively, they have allowed 2 goals, including 2 even-strength goals and 0 shorthanded goals. On the power play, they have converted 1 out of 6 chances, giving them a power play percentage of 16.67%. They have a penalty kill rate of 100.00% on 5 power play chances faced, with a save percentage of 95.2%.
Semyon Varlamov will be in goal for the Islanders, with a career record of 272-220-64. He has allowed 1,472 goals on 17,512 shots, resulting in a save percentage of .916. Varlamov has a quality start percentage of 56.8% with 316 quality starts in his career.
The Pick: New York Islanders (-125)
Calgary Flames vs Columbus Blue Jackets
- Game: Calgary Flames vs Columbus Blue Jackets
- Date: Friday, October 20, 2023
- Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
- TV: Bally Sports Ohio
- Odds/Point Spread: Flames (-154) Blue Jackets (+125)
Odds source: Bovada Sportsbook (USA), Bodog Sportsbook (Canada)
The Calgary Flames (1-1-1) are heading to Nationwide Arena on Friday to face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0). The Flames are favored with a moneyline of -154, while the Blue Jackets open as underdogs at +125. The betting total for this game is set at 7.
The Calgary Flames showed a decent effort in their previous game, finishing in a 2-2 tie against the Capitals. However, their offensive performance could have been better as they only scored on 2 out of 40 shots. They also had 5 power play opportunities, converting 1 of them into a goal. Calgary spent 6 minutes in the penalty box during the game.
While at even strength, the Flames have scored 6 goals and conceded 10 goals. Their opponents have had 10 power play opportunities, but the Flames defense has managed to keep them scoreless. Offensively, Calgary has scored 9 goals (ranking 18th in the league) and given up 10 goals so far this season. They have taken 98 shots with a shooting percentage of 9.2%. Currently, the Flames have 3 points and a points percentage of .500. They have faced 89 shots and achieved a save percentage of .888. The Flames have had 11 power play chances, resulting in 3 goals and a power play rate of 27.27%.
Daniel Vladar will be in goal for the Calgary Flames in this matchup. Throughout his career, Vladar has allowed 145 goals with a goals against average of 2.87 per game. He has played in 55 games, accumulating a save percentage of .898 in 3,027 minutes. Vladar has a record of 29-14-8, starting in 47 games. He has recorded 23 quality starts with a quality starts percentage of .489. Vladar has faced 1,424 shots and made 1,279 saves.
In their last game, the Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a 4-0 defeat against the Red Wings. Despite having 4 power play opportunities, they were unable to score a goal. The Blue Jackets managed to register 0 goals out of 23 shots on goal.
So far this season, the Blue Jackets have scored 7 goals, earning 2 points with a points percentage of .333. They have allowed 11 goals, with 8 goals conceded at even strength and 3 goals while shorthanded. Offensively, Columbus has scored 6 goals at even strength and 1 power play goal (ranking 26th in the NHL). They have had 9 power play opportunities with a power play rate of 11.11%. The Blue Jackets have taken 77 shots (ranked 23rd in the league) with a shooting percentage of 9.09%. Defensively, they have allowed 107 shots and have a penalty kill rate of 72.73% on 11 power play chances. Their save percentage is currently 89.7%.
Elvis Merzlikins will be guarding the crease for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has an average of 3.12 goals against per game, allowing a total of 431 goals. Merzlikins has a quality start rate of 48.9% with 68 quality starts in his NHL career. In 139 games played, he has logged a total of 8,290 minutes. Merzlikins has a career record of 56-63-22 and has made 4,182 saves out of 4,613 shots, resulting in a save percentage of .907.
The Pick: Calgary Flames (-154)
