The Detroit Red Wings (15-43-4) travel to meet the New York Islanders (33-20-6) Friday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., at 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Red Wings-Islanders sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Red Wings at Islanders: Projected starting goalies
Jonathan Bernier vs. Semyon Varlamov
Bernier has turned into a trade chip for the lowly Wings leading up to Monday’s deadline. He’ll have at least one more game to build his stock. He enters with a 13-17-2 record, 2.89 goals against average and .908 save percentage, which looks bad. However, those numbers are phenomenal given how poorly Jimmy Howard has played, going 2-22-2 with a 4.08 GAA and .886 SV%. Howard was in the crease, allowing three goals in just 7:56 before getting pulled, in an 8-2 loss Jan. 14 at the Isles.
Varlamov enters 17-12-4 with a 2.55 GAA and .918 SV%, with each of the past two categories slightly ahead of his career numbers. He didn’t start that mid-January start against the Wings, but he allowed just one goal on 31 shots in a 4-1 win in Detroit Dec. 2.
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Red Wings at Islanders: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 12:20 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Islanders 3, Red Wings 1
Moneyline (ML)
The Islanders (-304) should be AVOIDED, not because they’re not going to win, but you have to risk over three times the return on investment. It’s just not worth the risk of an upset. Ask those who laid big money on the Canadiens in Detroit Tuesday – a 4-3 loss. However, the Wings (+240) have won just once in the past seven meetings.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Islanders ML returns a profit of $3.29, while a $10 wager on the Red Wings ML results in a profit of $24.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The ISLANDERS (-1.5, -106) are a better bet on the puck line, even though you still won’t catch plus-money backing them to win by 2 goals or more. Despite the win by the Red Wings (+1.5, -115) last time out, they’ve averaged just 1.7 goals per game across the past seven outings, and rank last in the league with a 2.02 GPG for the season.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-129) is the play here as the Red Wings are terrible at putting the biscuit in the basket. The Under is 4-0-1 in the past five on the road for the Wings, while going 5-1-1 in the past seven overall. The Under is also 4-0 in the past four for the Isles, and 5-1-2 in the past eight against Atlantic Division foes. However, tread lightly, as the Over is 13-3 in the past 16 meetings in New York, while the Isles are 5-0 in the past five at home.
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