New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens: The Islanders won't allow themselves to relax in a match against an outsider

Prediction for the NHL New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens match, which will take place on February 20. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

The Islanders continue their pursuit of the top 8 in the East. Barry Trotz's team lost a lot in the first half, so every mistake now makes the task even more difficult.

In the last game, New York hosted Boston, which the Islanders can catch up with before the end of the regular season. The Islanders took advantage of their opponent's lineup problems and outplayed the Bears without Bergeron and Marchand (4:1). The Islanders' gap to Boston was reduced to eight points in terms of losses. A home game against the season's main underdog, Montreal, was an excellent opportunity to consolidate their success. Except that the Islanders have a tough road trip ahead of Seattle, three teams from California and Colorado.

The Canadiens did not lose their 11th game in a row. The Canadiens did concede a goal at the end of their home game against St. Louis. The score was 1:2 with just over a minute before the final siren. But, surprisingly, that was enough for Montreal. Young talent Cole Cofield with just 10 seconds left, put the game into overtime before leading the Canadiens to their long-awaited win in extra time himself. The Blues played horribly (3:2). However, that doesn't take away from the credit for Montreal. The team showed character and a will to win. Perhaps the stunning comeback will help the Canadiens win a little more often in the future.

After the loss to Buffalo, Barry Trotz returned Clutterbuck to the fourth line and put Kyle Palmieri in the first combination with Lee and Barzal. The experiment with building up the attacking potential failed. It turned out much better in the usual lineup, at least against Boston. The meeting will likely be a total under, and the Islanders will finish with a win.

Prediction: New York will win and go on to chase Boston, Washington and anyone else who can theoretically be dropped from the top 8 of the Eastern Conference by a distance.

• W1 + Total Under 8.5 for 1.77
• Handicap 1 (-1.0) for 1.69
• Individual Total 2 Under 0.5 for 6.50