Islanders Aim to Shut Down the Rival Rangers
The Road Team is a Sharp Favorite Per Rangers vs Islanders Preview
Can The Rangers Come Through Again As a Road Favorite vs the Islanders?
A win by the Islanders against the rival Rangers would be a major step in their quest to secure a playoff spot. The Rangers vs Islanders preview has the former as a road favorite against the Islanders for the second time this season.
When looking at the NHL predictions today, the Rangers are priced at -130 to win the game outright. The Islanders are +110. The total is set to 5.5 with a slight lean on the over at -115.
The Rangers look to sweep the season series after scoring five goals in each of the first meetings against the Islanders. They have won three of the last four road games against the Islanders.
The Islanders are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division but Pittsburgh, Washington, and Philadelphia are all just two points behind the Islanders. The Rangers currently lead the NHL with 108 points.
Rangers vs Islanders 
Records: New York Rangers (53-21-4), New York Islanders (35-27-15)
Day/Time:
Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
Streaming: MSG Sportsnet, MSG 2, ESPN+
Former Top Pick Delivering For the Rangers
It is not easy to be a No. 1 overall pick who does not live up to expectations in a market like New York. Alexis Lafreniere only had 47 goals and 91 points in his first three NHL seasons. There were even talks about the top pick of the 2020 NHL Draft being traded.
But with four multi-point efforts over the last seven games, Lafreniere has soared past his previous career-highs with 26 goals and 28 assists to give the New York Rangers another scoring threat. This could factor into this Rangers vs Islanders preview.
The total has gone over in each of the last five games for the Rangers.
Islanders Closing Strong
The Islanders have moved into playoff position thanks to the stumbling of other teams contending for the remaining playoff spots.
New York has won four games in a row to take over the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have allowed just three goals over its last three games. Keep that in mind when looking at the Rangers vs Islanders preview.
Goalies Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have combined to stop 84 of 87 shots in wins over Chicago, Columbus, and Nashville. With the quality goaltending that the Islanders are receiving, it is not surprising that five of New York’s last seven games went under the total.
Last Meeting
The Rangers got goals from Johnny Brodzinski and Will Cullye to offset a pair of goals by Bo Horvat as the Rangers won 5-2 to cover as the home favorite on Mar. 17.
The game went over the 5.5-goal total on a goal by Kaapo Kakko early in the third period. It was the fourth straight meeting between the New York Islanders and Rangers to go over the total.
Rangers vs Islanders Betting preview
With two of the next three games against the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers, it is now or never for an Islanders team that brings a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup.
Two of the four wins for the Islanders during the winning streak came by one goal with the other two headed that way before late empty-net goals.
The Rangers are 8-1 over the last nine games while a quick look at recent NHL hockey scores shows that the Islanders are 5-1 over their last six games.
Forwards Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler continue to be sidelined for the Rangers while defenseman Scott Mayfield is out for the Islanders.
When analyzing the NHL lines, each of the last 10 games played by the Rangers against Eastern Conference teams landed over the total. Five of the last six games for the Rangers in April also went over the total.
The Rangers look to extend their road winning streak to five games against an Islanders team that allowed a total of one goal while winning the last two games at home.
The Islanders are 6-2-4 as a home underdog this season and that includes a shootout loss to the Rangers. They have covered against the puck line in 10 of those matchups. The Rangers are 16-8-2 as the road favorite with New York 10-16 ATS in those games.
The total has gone under in four of the last five home games for the Islanders.
With the Islanders fighting to remain in playoff position and the Rangers trying to secure home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs, this could be a tight-checking affair that lands under the total even if 10 of the last 15 games played by the Islanders against fellow Metropolitan Division teams went over the total.
The total is currently at 6 goals for this matchup.
For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
