The New York Islanders (39-29-9) end a 3-game road trip on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes (48-18-9). Puck drop at PNC Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Islanders vs. Hurricanes odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Isles are coming off a 5-0 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and are 5-4-1 over the last 10. They sit 2 points ahead of the Florida Panthers for the 1st Wild-Card spot and 3 points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are on the outside looking in. The Islanders have 5 games left to punch their ticket.
Carolina snapped a 3-game losing skid with a 3-0 road victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The Canes sit 1 point ahead of New Jersey for the 2nd seed in the East with a game in hand on them.
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Islanders at Hurricanes odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:35 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Islanders +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Hurricanes -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Islanders +1.5 (-175) | Hurricanes -1.5 (+145)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
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Islanders at Hurricanes projected goalies
Semyon Varlamov (11-9-2, 2.70 GAA, .913 SV%, 2 SO) vs. Frederik Andersen (19-9-1, 2.47 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO)
Varlamov came on midway through the 2nd period Saturday after Ilya Sorokin surrendered 4 goals. Varly stopped 10 of 11 shots in the loss to Tampa. He has just 2 starts since March 1 as Sorokin has been grinding away in a playoff race. Over his last 3 outings, Varlamov has stopped 65 of 72 shots fired his way for a .903 SV%.
Antti Raanta returned from nearly a month-long absence Saturday and stopped 14 shots in the shutout. So look for Andersen to be between the pipes in this game. Andersen was 5-4-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .898 SV% in March. The heavy usage likely caught up to him as he allowed 3 goals in 5 of 7 games and at least 2 in all.
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Islanders at Hurricanes picks and predictions
Prediction
Islanders 3, Hurricanes 2
Moneyline
This should be a tight game. The Canes are 25-10-3 at home this season, but the Isles arguably need this game a little more. The road team has taken each of the last 5 meetings between the clubs. However, Carolina is 9-4 in its last 13 games with no rest. New York likely enters with a fresher goalie, and I’ll LEAN ISLANDERS +145 to get it done in overtime.
Puck line (PL)/Against the spread
Carolina isn’t a good puck-line team, especially at home, with a 15-23 mark. The Islanders are a solid 21-18 on the PL on the road. However, I’m not a fan of the -175 juice to take New York +1.5. So let’s dive deeper and take the Islanders with the protection of getting into overtime and take ISLANDERS OR TIE -130 under the Double Chance (regular time) section.
Over/Under
The Under is 3-0-1 in the Islanders’ last 4 games. The Under cashed in 5 of Carolina’s last 7 games as well. This late in the season, teams play tighter defense, and scoring is more at a premium. I see this being a 3-2 or 2-1 kind of game so take the UNDER 5.5 (+100) at even money.
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