The battle for the final playoff positioning in the NHL’s East Division is going to be intense all season long, which makes these matchups between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders even more crucial. The two teams have identical 4-4-2 records, but they have come at those marks in different fashions. The Islanders snaped a five-game losing streak with a win on Saturday against Pittsburgh while the Rangers have won three of their last four games.
Panarin has scored multiple points in three of his last four games and he’s been carrying the Rangers offense of late. He is far and away the best offensive threat the Rangers have on the roster and he’s making teams pay even when facing the top defensemen on the roster. At +150 odds to score at least two points, the value is there to bet on him continuing his hot streak. However, the real risk is that he’ll score three points for a third straight game, which you can bet at +800 odds at the NHL betting sites in New Jersey for those brave souls. ARTEMI PANARIN SCORES 2+ POINTS Since opening the season with a shutout loss to the Islanders, the Rangers have scored at least three goals in seven of their other nine games of the season. Meanwhile, the Islanders have scored at least three goals in half of their 10 games this season. Even during the losing streak, the Islanders were scoring goals, they just weren’t very good at stopping them. Both New York squads have some issues to work out on the back end and have enough talent on the front end to score at least three goals. Someone has to win, however, so bet on a high-scoring affair at +155 odds from the legal sports betting sites in New Jersey. OVER 6.5 TOTAL GOALS The Islanders went to overtime twice against Philadelphia then scored late to avoid an extra session against Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Rangers played six straight one-goal games before winning the last two contests by two goals each. So expect a close game between these two rivals with points being so critical in a weird, unforgiving season. If I had to make a guess, I’d say the Islanders are the better team and will win the game, but I don’t have enough confidence to bet on them. Instead, I look at the +310 odds at the hockey betting sites in New Jersey, and try to earn a bigger payout on just how evenly matched these two teams are. TIE AT THE END OF REGULATION
Head to Head This will be the third meeting of the season between these two intrastate rivals as the New York Rangers host the New York Islanders for the third time as well. Stats These two teams traded blowout shutout victories to open the season as the Islanders won the first matchup 4-0 before losing 5-0 two nights later to the Rangers. The Rangers hold a slim 131-126-9 advantage over the Islanders in the all-time series. Artemi Panarin is one of 10 players in the NHL with 15 points so far this season, and he has nearly twice as many points as anyone else on the Rangers. His team-high 10 assists would be enough to lead the team in points. The Rangers rank third in the league by drawing 11 penalty minutes against opponents every game, but New York is only converting on 14.6 percent of its power-play chances. Semyon Varlamov has been outstanding in goal before the Islanders with a .921 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average. He is one of two goalies with two shutouts this season as well, which were his first two starts of the season.
New York Islanders to win This game is going to come down to who starts in goal for the Islanders against their crosstown rival. If the Islanders go to Semyon Varlamov with a three-day break coming up, they will be at a heavy advantage against a Rangers team that is very one-dimensional on offense. The Islanders have found ways to match the opponent’s goal-scoring ability all season long, but there will be less pressure on the offense with the stronger of New York’s two goalies in net.
