The defending Stanley Cup champions take their talents to Brooklyn, as the Chicago Blackhawks become the New York Islanders’ very first visitors at Barclays Center. Will the Blackhawks score their first win of the season? Or will the Islanders christen their sparking new home with a victory?
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Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Islanders Betting Preview
[sc:NHL240 ]Raising their 2015 championship banner was the only good thing that happened to the Blackhawks on Wednesday, as they dropped their first game of the season with a 3-2 loss at home to the Rangers.
The Blackhawks were seemingly kept in check by all-world goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The defending champions actually had more shots than New York, 34-27, but only converted twice no thanks to the Rangers’ sturdy defense. Jaroslav Halak is not Lundqvist, but he’s a capable netminder nonetheless so the Blackhawks have to keep on being aggressive on the attack. The Blackhawks ranked first on shots goal last season with 33.9 per game.
Chicago can’t fall asleep on defense, though, given the Islanders’ high-octane offense that can just go off anytime, as evidenced by their fourth-ranked 2.99 goals per game average in 2014-15. Most of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Corey Crawford, who had an ugly start in the Rangers game. He allowed all of New York’s goals in the first period, but was steady the rest of the way, stopping all of the Rangers 16 shots in the succeeding two periods to finish with 27 saves.
With a nearly intact roster, the Islanders look to open their 2015-16 campaign with aplomb as they welcome the reigning Stanley Cup champions to their new home, Barclays Center.
Everyone who saw the Islanders play last season knows that this team can go crazy on offense. As mentioned, the Islanders were among the highest-scoring teams in the league last season with team-MVP John Tavares, leading the team in goals (38) and assists (48). Tavares will be flanked by rising star Anders Lee to his left and Kyle Okposo on the other side. Lee finished second to Tavares in goals last season with 25, while Okposo had 18 goals and 33 assists in just 60 games.
The Islanders’ offense goes deeper than that, however, with the likes of Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson expected to provide firepower coming off the secondary lines.
The defense has questions hovering about it, as the Isles were just 23rd in goals allowed per game (2.73) and 26th in the penalty kill (78 percent). Chicago can still get it done on offense even without the services of Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp anymore, so the pressure is on New York’s blueline and Jaroslav Halak later tonight. Halak is coming off a 38-win season, in which he also had a .914 SV% and 2.44 GAA.
