Free NHL Picks Today: Colorado Avalanche vs New York Islanders 12/19/22

The New York Islanders (18-13-1) travel to face the Colorado Avalanche (16-11-2) at Ball Arena on Monday. New York is coming off a 5-2 win over the Golden Knights on Saturday, ending a run of three consecutive defeats.

The Islanders conceded two power play goals while failing to take advantage of their own limited power play opportunities. Five players found the net for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov saved an impressive 35 of 37 shots (.945%) in the win.

Colorado beat the Predators 3-1 on Saturday. Cale Makar, Alex Newhook, and Mikko Rantanen scored one apiece for the Avalanche. Makar added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Alexandar Georgiev saved 25 of 26 shots in the win (.961%).

HEAD TO HEAD

The Islanders won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-4 victory in October. Five players were on the scoresheet for New York.

Evan Rodrigues (2G 0A), Rantanen (1G 1A), and Nathan MacKinnon (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Colorado. Varlamov got the win despite allowing four goals on 37 shots (.891%).

FACING OFF

New York is averaging 3.25 goals per game for the season, 13th in the NHL, and they are taking on an Avalanche team that is allowing 2.76 goals a game (9th). Meanwhile, Colorado has found the net 3.03 times a game on average, 19th in the league, and the Islanders are allowing opponents to score 2.81 goals per game (10th).

The Avalanche’s 27.72% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Islanders rank 21st with a conversion rate of 20.62%. In terms of defending power plays, New York has the league’s eighth-ranked PK% at 80.81%, while Colorado is 22nd at 76.04%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have been the top skaters for the Islanders this season with 33 and 31 points. Barzal is among the league leaders with his 27 assists (6th). In the net, Ilya Sorokin (10-10-0) is New York’s top goaltender by goals against average.

He has a 2.50 GAA and a .921% save percentage. Rantanen leads the Avalanche in scoring with 38 points. He has 21 goals (6th) and 17 assists in 29 games. Georgiev (11-6-2) has the best goals against average for Colorado at 2.67. He has a save percentage of .918%.