Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The New York Islanders are almost unstoppable right now, while the Boston Bruins look fragile at the back and have already dropped to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Boston Bruins
Things started well enough — on 17 October they were still in the top eight after three wins from five games. Since then, however, the Bruins have lost five of their last six, with their only victory coming against the Colorado Avalanche (3:2) thanks to a couple of lucky counter-attacks. Their most recent game ended in an embarrassing 2:7 defeat to the Ottawa Senators. To make matters worse, they now face a back-to-back fixture straight off a flight.
New York Islanders
Just two weeks earlier, on 15 October, the Islanders were bottom of the East after three straight losses. It looked like a continuation of last season’s struggles, but since beating the Edmonton Oilers (4:2), the Islanders have been flying. They’ve defeated the Ottawa Senators away (5:4) and crushed the high-flying Detroit Red Wings (7:2). Only the Philadelphia Flyers managed to edge them out, and that came via a shootout (3:4 SO).
Boston Bruins vs New York Islanders Prediction
Ilya Sorokin will start in goal for the Islanders after stopping 88.5% of shots against the Flyers. His recent numbers are weaker than teammate David Rittich’s (87.5% vs 94%), which gives the Bruins a small opening. They are desperate to recover from their humiliation in Ottawa, and this looks like the right moment to respond.
