Flames vs. Islanders prediction: Bet the underdog in this Monday NHL matchup

There’s been a whole lot of funkiness to the 2022-23 NHL season, however maybe no crew has had a extra peculiar begin to the season than the Calgary Flames. A classy decide to win the Stanley Cup and priced round +1500 to hoist the trophy on opening evening, Calgary was shot out of a cannon within the first two weeks of the marketing campaign. The Flames gained 5 of their first six video games and did it in type in opposition to Colorado, Edmonton, Vegas, Carolina, and Pittsburgh. 

A stretch like that may at all times seize the eye of the betting market, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than Calgary turned the second favourite within the Western Convention behind the Avalanche. 

4 losses later and the dialog has gone from who can cease the Flames to what occurred to the Flames. 

Calgary is a slight highway favourite in opposition to the New York Islanders on Monday evening.

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Calgary Flames Left Wing Jonathan Huberdeau
Calgary Flames Left Wing Jonathan Huberdeau
Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs

Flames vs. Islanders prediction

Whereas the Flames began the marketing campaign pink scorching after which cooled off, the alternative is true of the New York Islanders. After dropping 4 of their first six video games, the Isles had been in peril of letting one other season slip away from them within the early going. Recollections of final fall, when the Islanders misplaced 11 video games in a row, flooded the fanbase’s reminiscence after the crew dropped three on the spin earlier than a stretch of video games in opposition to the Rangers, Hurricanes, and Avalanche. 

Wouldn’t you realize, the Isles would take all three of these contests after which two extra for good measure, beating the Blackhawks and Blues on the highway earlier than dropping in Detroit. 

Regardless of the loss to the Crimson Wings, it’s onerous to not be inspired by how the Islanders have began the season. Their 7-5 file isn’t going to hop off the web page, however the Isles’ underlying metrics present a crew that's usually trending in the precise route. The Islanders rank sixth in 5-on-5 objective differential, fourth in 5-on-5 scoring, and boast a 50.8% anticipated objectives charge, which is a marked enchancment after they posted a 43% xG charge of their first six contests.

The Islanders are additionally getting Vezina-caliber goaltending from Ilya Sorokin, who has skated to a .933 save proportion and is third within the NHL with a +11.1 Targets Saved Above Anticipated, and have a penalty kill working at 90.5%. 

Calgary’s statistical portfolio is just about on par with the Islanders. The Flames boast a barely higher anticipated objectives charge and so they’re permitting fewer high-danger scoring possibilities, however they haven’t proven to be the 5-on-5 juggernaut that they had been final season simply but. Maybe the wonkiness of their schedule — that is simply Calgary’s second highway recreation and its first exterior of Alberta — has triggered the crew to get a bit stale, nevertheless it’s nonetheless onerous to disregard that this crew isn’t firing on all cylinders proper now.

Betting on the NHL?

Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders skates with the puck
Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders skates with the puck
NHLI through Getty Photographs

Each of those groups would depend their depth as their greatest energy, however Calgary’s is being examined proper now with Chris Tanev, Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone all coping with accidents. That leaves the blueline in tough form, because the Flames needed to name up two gamers from the NHL for his or her upcoming highway journey.

Calgary’s ahead group stays fairly potent on paper, nevertheless it’s been a troublesome begin to the season for mainly each ahead in addition to Nazem Kadri. Darryl Sutter’s been looking for the precise line mixtures for his new-look Flames, nevertheless it’s but to pan out and Ilya Sorokin isn’t the goaltender you need to face while you’re preventing it a bit.

Sorokin isn’t the confirmed starter, however he ought to get the nod after Semyon Varlamov began in Detroit and the Islanders on the primary evening of a back-to-back. If Sorokin does certainly get the beginning, the Islanders have worth at plus-money. 

And in case you’re on the lookout for a prop to play, look no additional than Mathew Barzal to attain a objective. The Isles’ No. 1 heart continues to be on zero objectives for the season, however he’s been enjoying terrific hockey and ranks fourth on the crew with 32 pictures on objective. Sooner or later, they'll begin for Barzal, who has 11 assists in 12 video games.

Flames vs. Islanders decide

Islanders +105 (Caesars)

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