Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Monday, March 2
Colorado at New York Islanders (7 p.m. EST). New York’s Yann Danis has shutouts in his last two home starts, the second a 2-0 victory over Buffalo on Saturday night. Colorado is coming off losses to New Jersey (4-0) and the New York Rangers (6-1).
STARS
Sunday
— Martin Brodeur, Devils, made 27 saves for his 100th NHL regular-season shutout—three short of tying Terry Sawchuk’s NHL record—in New Jersey’s 3-0 victory over Philadelphia. Brodeur has two shutouts in three games since returning from an elbow injury that sidelined him for 50 games. He has 547 wins, four off Patrick Roy’s record.
— Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi, Lightning. Lecavalier and St. Louis each had two goals and an assist, and Recchi had five assists in Tampa Bay’s 8-6 victory over Calgary.
— Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins. Malkin had a goal and two assists, and Fleury made 20 saves in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 victory over Dallas.
— Antti Niemi, Blackhawks, made 22 saves in his first NHL start to help Chicago beat Los Angeles 4-2.
STATS
Jarome Iginla had two goals and three assists in Calgary’s 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday night to break Theo Fleury’s franchise points record. Iginla has 834 points (400 goals and 434 assists) in 922 career games, all with the Flames. Fleury had 830 points in 791 games with Calgary.
SUSPENDED
Dallas center Steve Ott was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on Sunday, a day after he received a match penalty for attempting to injure Anaheim’s Travis Moen. Ott and Moen squared off in a fight after the final horn sounded in Anaheim’s 4-3 victory. Ott’s hand made contact with Moen’s eye, which game officials ruled was an eye-gouge and gave him a match penalty for attempting to injure.
SCOUTING
John Tavares had two goals and two assists in the London Knights’ 7-2 victory over Kingston on Sunday in the Ontario Hockey League. Expected to be the top pick in the NHL draft, Tavares has 52 goals and 42 assists for an OHL-leading 94 points. Justin Taylor led London with three goals and two assists.
SPEAKING
“It’s a big number, it’s kind of hard to believe. You get to different numbers and at times you think, ‘OK, it’s just another one.’ When you get to a round number, it looks more impressive.”—Martin Brodeur after making 27 saves for his 100th NHL regular-season shutout—three short of tying Terry Sawchuk’s NHL record—in New Jersey’s 3-0 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.
Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Islanders
The Avalanche were crushed 6-1 by the Rangers last time out, as +140 underdogs. The seven goals made it OVER the posted over/under (5.5).
Ryan Smyth potted the only Avalanche goal in that loss.
The Islanders beat the Sabres 2-0 last time out, as -160 favorites. The two goals went UNDER the posted over/under (5.5).
Current streak:
Colorado has lost 4 straight games.
Team records:
Colorado: 28-34-1
New York: 19-36-7
Colorado most recently:
When playing on Monday are 4-6
Before playing Buffalo are 8-8-1
After playing NY Rangers are 3-3-1
After a loss are 2-8
New York most recently:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing New Jersey are 4-6
After playing Buffalo are 5-5
After a win are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Colorado's last 9 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games on the road
Colorado is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Colorado is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 7 of the NY Islanders last 9 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the NY Islanders last 13 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the NY Islanders last 7 games
Next up:
Colorado home to Detroit, Wednesday, March 4
NY Islanders home to NY Rangers, Thursday, March 5
COLORADO (28-34-0-1, 57 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (19-36-0-7, 45 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 15-33 ATS (+54.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 6-14 ATS (-8.9 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
COLORADO is 2-10 ATS (-8.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 77-126 ATS (+233.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against the spread versus NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 1-0-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.0 Units)
COLORADO vs. NY ISLANDERS
Colorado is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Colorado is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games on the road
NY Islanders are 5-11-1 SU in their last 17 games when playing Colorado
NY Islanders are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
Hot teams
-- None
Cold teams
-- Colorado lost last four games, outscored 19-6. Islanders lost nine of their last twelve games.
Totals
-- Last four Colorado games went over the total.
Back-to-Back
-- None.
Series Records
-- Home side won last two Colorado-Islander games.
Monday's best NHL bet
Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders (+105, 5.5)
The NHL will put the spotlight, whether it wants to or not, on the Islanders and Avalanche Monday night. Long Island will play host to the only game on the NHL schedule.
The Islanders are coming off a 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Yann Danis was once again outstanding between the pipes and is proving to be one of the few bright spots for New York this season. Sean Bergenheim scored both goals against Buffalo.
"I feel really good out there right now," Bergenheim told the media. "We back checked well tonight, and we also skated well, too."
Danis has back-to-back shutouts and the Islanders have played under a total in each of his last four starts.
Islanders forward Bill Guerin took the pregame skate Saturday night but was pulled from the lineup which has led to trade speculation. It is very likely that Guerin has played his last game in an Islanders uniform.
Colorado has lost four games in a row, giving up 21 goals in the process. Neither Andrew Raycroft or Peter Budaj are able to find a groove right now. The Rangers were behind the eight ball from the very beginning against a motivated Rangers team Saturday night.
"They were desperate early and got a couple of quick ones," Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote told reporters. "We were almost the deer in the headlights. We didn't react too well."
The Rangers went on to win 6-1.
The Avalanche is giving up a lot of goals lately while the Islanders play things pretty tight when Yann Danis gets the start. With Guerin out of the lineup and Doug Weight still injured, the Islanders lack offensive punch.
Pick: Under