New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders Prediction, NHL Odds
The Rangers and Islanders will finish an all-New York two-game set from Long Island on Sunday night. Chasing a playoff spot in the East, the Rangers looked strong in a 4-1 win over the division-leading Islanders on Friday.
The Islanders are -133 favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Rangers vs. Islanders Betting Analysis
This has been a close season series with both teams picking up two wins each and four games still to play. Sports Interaction bettors have a lot more faith in the Isles though, as they’re backing the home team at a 76 per cent rate.
The Rangers are making a solid push for the playoffs. They’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 games overall and have won two of the last three meetings between these teams. The Blueshirts are 26-14 against the spread and have covered in 14 of 21 home games this year. Eight of their last 10 games have gone Under the total.
The Islanders are tied for top spot in the East Division with Washington, so this could be a big two points for them. They’ve won 11 of their last 13 home games and four of their last five overall. The Isles have covered fairly well, going 23-18 ATS. As a defence-first team, it’s not surprising to see they’ve been an Under team in five of their last six games overall and four of their last five games against the Rangers.
New York Rangers
It’s been a weird season for the Rangers, but they seem to be turning a corner. Rookie Alexis Lafreniere scored his seventh goal of the season in Friday’s win over the Islanders. After starting the year with eight points through his first 30 games, Lafreniere has now put up five points over his last 10. His five shots on Friday helped the Rangers outshoot the Islanders 36-32 overall and 35-29 at even-strength.
Alexandar Georgiev stopped 31 shots against the Islanders in his first start since March 19. Georgiev has allowed just one goal on 55 shots in two games against the Isles this season. In eight career starts against the Islanders, Georgiev is 7-1-0 with two shutouts, a 1.71 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage. It’s likely Igor Shesterkin will get the start on Sunday. Shesterkin has cemented himself as the Rangers’ undisputed No. 1 goalie. Sheskterkin is 10-9-2 on the year with a 2.44 GAA and .921 SV.
New York Islanders
Semyon Varlamov’s 32 saves weren’t enough on Friday to help the Islanders avoid just their second regulation home loss of the year. Varlamov has already picked up two shutouts against the Rangers this season and Lafreniere’s opening goal broke a 146:05 shutout streak against the Blueshirts. Varlamov is 16-8-3 with a 2.21 GAA and .922 SV. The Isles are still in good hands if they turn to Ilya Sorokin for the back half of this two-game set. Sorokin is 10-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .915 SV.
The Islanders’ reputation is as a defensively suffocating team, but they’re also dangerous offensively. They rank fifth in expected goals-for and fourth in expected goals-for percentage. Their 415 high-danger scoring chances this season leads the NHL and they’ve given up the fifth-fewest high-danger scoring chances at 272.
NYR
NYI