Montreal vs Islanders: Eighth straight away game can’t be easy for the Islanders

Montreal picked up another win. It’s only their third win of the season, but even that would have been unthinkable recently. However, the Canadiens won their next game with a visit to the Bell Centre by the powerful New York Islanders. Will Dominique Ducharme’s team be able to surprise by beating the Islanders? We’ll pick a few options to bet on at once.

The last Stanley Cup finalist has just three wins in their 11 starts in the new season. Of their three wins, Dominique Ducharme’s team won two at home against Detroit. The first game was played at the Bell Centre on October 24 and ended 6-1. Two days before the game against the New York Islanders, the second saw the Canadiens win 3-0 away, giving their goalie Jake Allen his second shutout of the season.

What happened twice to Detroit’s good-going distance of the season in Montreal? The fact is that under covid rules, the unvaccinated Tyler Bertuzzi, one of the team’s key forwards, could not help the Red Wings. He was joined in the second game by Dylan Larkin, who did not appear on the ice for personal reasons. If it wasn’t for that peculiar smile of fortune, it’s not a fact that the Canadiens would have even three wins under their belt right now.

Barry Trotz’s team is off to a slightly better start than Montreal in the 2021/22 championship. It’s no surprise, though. Renovations at their home Barclays Centre at the start of the regular season left the Islanders virtually homeless. The game in Montreal will be the eighth away game in a row for the New Yorkers. Five more away games will follow, after which the Islanders will finally return home. The first home game is scheduled for November 21. The opponents are Calgary.

Given the extraordinary and difficult situation, three wins in 7 games should be considered a good result for the Islanders. Moreover, 2 of the four defeats also earned the Islanders points, as they ended outside of 60 minutes of regulation time. In the season's first games, Barry Trotz’s team was left with zeros only in games against Florida and Carolina.

After two straight losses to Florida and Carolina early in the season, Barry Trotz’s team has not only not lost to anyone in regulation time but has also not conceded more than two pucks in 5 straight games. Given Montreal’s struggles with goals in the new season, it’s fair to assume that the Canadiens won’t be able to break the Islanders’ standard of the two-goal limit either. At the same time, we shouldn’t expect the visitors to win here either. After all, the Islanders have been away from home for a long time and might not be able to overcome their opponent, as they did, for example, in the previous game in Nashville 2-2. Or in the same game in Columbus on October 22.

The prediction is that the New York Islanders will not lose but give a needy opponent overtime or a shootout.

• X2 and Total Under 6.5 for 1.90;
• X for 4.42;
• Correct score 2-2 for 10.00.