Top NHL Betting Pick for Thursday, April 15 (2021)
After a relatively uneventful trade deadline, we enter the last month of the abbreviated regular season. As the standings become tighter, so does each contest. With teams on the brink of playoff contention, the intensity will increase as they try to capture a playoff berth in pursuit of Lord Stanley’s cup.
Below we’ll analyze two teams that made noise at the aforementioned trade deadline and currently battling for position in the hotly contested East Division.
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YTD: 147-133-1 (+28.59u)
*Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
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New York Islanders (-103) vs. Boston Bruins (-114)
After losing team Captain, Anders Lee to a season-ending knee injury, the Islanders were buyers at the trade deadline, acquiring forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the cross-town rival New Jersey Devils.
This move reunites both players with their former General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, as the trio looks to synergize their relationship and make a deep playoff run.
The Bruins made the splashiest of moves at the deadline by acquiring the ghost of Taylor Hall. If you’re not familiar, Hall is a former league MVP who inexplicably signed with the Buffalo Sabres this past offseason. If you’re wondering how their season is going, I would advise drinking a few beers prior to researching this.
In any event, Mr. Hall has tons of skill, but it’s been a few years since we’ve seen it fully on display. Boston hopes to juice the orange after acquiring the former NO.1 pick for relatively little.
Entering tonight, the Islanders are sitting comfortably in second place while the Bruins try to fend off the New York Rangers for the fourth and final divisional playoff spot.
Let’s analyze each teams’ metrics 5v5 this season:
Number’s courtesy of Evolving-Hockey
- CF%: 49.99 (NYI) 52.99 (BOS)
- xGF%: 55.77 (NYI) 49.26 (BOS)
- GA/60: 1.98 (NYI) 2.27 (BOS)
- GF/60: 2.62 (NYI) 2.02 (BOS)
Digging deeper, I went back and analyzed the numbers from the past 30 days and found huge discrepancies in:
- xGF%: 58.65 (NYI) 46.75 (BOS)
- GF/60: 3.02 (NYI) 1.63 (BOS)
As we can see, the Islanders are better in nearly every category season long and within the last month.
While the masses clamor over the addition of Taylor Hall, the Bruins have been getting steamed since opening, despite the fact they remain an offensively inept team that will struggle with their opponent’s defensive-minded style.
With little to no home-ice advantage this season, I’ll back the better team as a dog in this one.
Picks: New York Islanders (-103) or better
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Jordan Anderson is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jordan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Jordan_A03.