Montreal vs NY Islanders Prediction: the Visitors to Take Step Closer to Playoffs

Prediction for the NHL match between Montreal vs NY Islanders, which will take place on January 26th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Montreal has another season with a bare chance of making the playoffs. Martin St. Louis is trying to build a team, but so far, there has been no tangible progress. Whenever the Canadiens have a good run, it's followed by a stroke of bad luck. In mid-January, the Canadiens beat Colorado and New Jersey 4-3 and 3-2 before falling to Ottawa 6-2 and 4-1 and Boston 9-4. Such performance leaves them in 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Islanders' management is tired of tolerating the failures of their brainchild. So, Lane Lambert was sent into retirement after an inexplicable loss to Chicago. Patrick Roy is the new coach, but he will have his work cut out if he wants his charges to contend for a Cup. As a result, the Islanders defeated Dallas 3-2 in overtime thanks to Bo Horvat's goal. But one day later, NY failed to find the back of the net in a 3-2 loss to Vegas. So far, they are tenth in the Eastern standings.

Montreal and the Islanders are not doing the best, sitting outside the playoffs. At the same time, the Islanders aim for bigger goals. Undoubtedly, the new coach might have changed something to improve their results. In the upcoming battle, NY will face one of the underdogs to earn two points. 

The Islanders are quite pragmatic. They started the season in their typical style but then suddenly played with more joy and openness, which didn't lead to better results. They've only had two games under Patrick Roy, mostly defending their gates. The Canadiens, too, are unlikely to be set up for a shot exchange.