NHL Best Team Prop Bet for Chicago Blackhawks vs New York Islanders

The Eastern vs Western Conference matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Islanders tonight is the perfect combination we need to target a team for a first period under.

The New York Islanders are in a tight race for the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders are just three points behind both the Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals and with the season coming to an end soon, can not afford any missteps. The Chicago Blackhawks, with a total of 49 points for the season, are in a different race of sorts- they are doing all they can to finish with more points than the San Jose Sharks who have a league-worst total of 42.

With the expectation that the Islanders win this game, playing the home favorite to win here is a very expensive play. I prefer to approach this game by targeting a first period team under.

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Blackhawks vs Islanders Prediction and Pick

New York Islanders will have Ilya Sorokin starting between the pipes for them tonight. Sorokin has been a solid first period under for us this year. In his 51 starts this season, he has held the opposing team scoreless in 55% of those games. That first period underperformance for Sorokin places him sixth in the league for goalies with more than 15 starts.

The Blackhawks have the third worst first period goal differential so far this season with -31. As if that wasn't bad enough, Chicago has been held scoreless in the first period in 53% of its games this year. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, they have been held under this line in three of their last five games. The two time they did score in the first period was against teams and goalies that do not have the first period under stats the likes of Sorokin and the Islanders.

PICK: Chicago Blackhawks Team Total u0.5 1st Period Goals -120

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.