The New York Islanders will travel to Chicago, Illinois to face the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center with the game scheduled to start at 8:30 PM ET on Friday night.

The Islanders enter this game with a record of 19-15-10 and 48 points which puts them in 6^th place in the Metropolitan Division and 11^th place in the Eastern Conference while having lost five of their last six games and are on a three-game losing streak following a 2-4 loss on the road against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. New York has been one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league as they rank 22^nd in goals per game, however, they have the 11^th best power-play success rate with an average of 2.98 goals per game and a 23.53% power-play success rate. 

Defensively, the Islanders have been one of the worst teams in the NHL as they rank 25^th in goals allowed per game and have the 3^rd worst penalty-kill percentage as they are allowing an average of 3.4 goals per game and have a 72.31% penalty-kill percentage. Mathew Barzal leads the team in points with 45 points this season. The New York Islanders will look to end their three-game losing streak when they travel to face the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season as they enter this game with a record of 13-30-2 and 28 points which puts them in 8^th place in the Central Division and gives them the 2^nd worst record in the NHL following a 0-3 shutout loss on the road against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Blackhawks are the 2^nd lowest-scoring team and have the 2^nd worst power-play success rate in the NHL with a power-play success rate of 12.88% and an average of 2.26 goals per game. Defensively, the Blackhawks have allowed the 4^th most goals per game and rank 27^th in the league in penalty-kill percentage with an average of 3.67 goals allowed per game and a 75.36% penalty-kill percentage. 

Connor Bedard has missed the last six games for the Blackhawks and will be out until the 21^st of February with a broken jaw, however, he leads the team in goals, assists, and points with 15 goals, 18 assists, and 33 points. The Chicago Blackhawks will look to bounce back following the loss against the Sabres when they host the New York Islanders on Friday night.

BookMaker has the New York Islanders listed as -250 moneyline favorites on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. New York is 5-2-3 in the last ten and 2-0-1 in the last three games in the series. The Islanders have won by an average margin of .5 goals per game over the last ten and 1.33 goals per game over the last three games in the series.

Neither team has been great this season, however, New York enters this game with the better record and is 2-0-1 in the last three meetings. However, the Islanders have won by an average margin of .5 goals per game over the last ten and 1.33 goals per game over the last three games in the series which is why I am taking the puck line for the Chicago Blackhawks at +1.5 when they host the New York Islanders on Friday night.