The New York Islanders (29-14-5) travel to play the Washington Capitals (31-13-4) Tuesday with a 7 p.m. ET puck drop at Capital One Arena. Below, we analyze the Islanders-Capitals odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Islanders dropped two in a row at home to the Capitals, falling 1-0 in a shootout Thursday and losing 6-3 Saturday. New York scored 6 goals April 20 against the New York Rangers but has posted a total of just 19 goals across its past 10 outings.
The Capitals won each of the two games on the Island as short underdogs. Washington won six of its previous eight outings while the Over is 8-1 across the past nine contests.
Islanders at Capitals: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 1 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Islanders +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Capitals -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Islanders +1.5 (-275) | Capitals -1.5 (+230)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Islanders at Capitals: Projected starting goalies
Semyon Varlamov (17-9-4, 2.12 GAA, .926 SV%, 5 SO) vs. Vitek Vanecek (17-9-3, 2.77 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO)
Varlamov was on the short end of the 1-0 shootout loss Thursday, posting 28 saves. He is still credited with the shutout, his second in the past five starts, both against Washington. Varly is 2-3-1 with a 2.50 GAA and .906 SV% in six games against the Caps this season.
Vanecek will face the Islanders for the fifth time this season. He is 2-1-0 with a .929 SV% and 2.47 GAA. He has allowed 8 goals on 112 shots in the head-to-head matchup.
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Islanders at Capitals: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Capitals 3, Islanders 2
Money line (ML)
The CAPITALS (-120) pushed around the Islanders over the last week in New York, and they should be able to protect home ice and get it done again.
The Isles are a dismal 1-5 across their past six games as road underdogs, and they’re 1-4 in their previous five against teams with a winning record.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The Islanders +1.5 (-275) are a risk of nearly three times your potential return, and that’s just not very good insurance. They were doubled up at home last time out against the Caps.
PASS.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-120) is a good bet.
The Under is 8-2-1 across the past 11 games for the Islanders, with the Under edging the Over 4-3 in the previous seven meetings this season. The Over is 8-1 in the past nine games for the Caps, so I’d go lightly on this one.
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