The New York Islanders (1-0-0) and New York Rangers (0-1-0) take to the ice of Madison Square Garden for the second time in three nights. Saturday’s puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Islanders-Rangers NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Islanders blanked the Rangers 4-0 in Thursday’s season-opener for both teams.
Islanders at Rangers: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:15 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Islanders -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Rangers +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Islanders -1.5 (+220) | Rangers +1.5 (-275)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Islanders at Rangers: Projected starting goalies
Semyon Varlamov (1-0-0, 1.000 SV%, 0.00 GAA) vs. Alexandar Georgiev (2019-20 stats: 17-14-2, .910 SV%, 3.04 GAA)
Varlamov began his 2021 season with a 24-save shutout of the rival Rangers. He’ll be trying to hold off rookie Ilya Sorokin for playing time this season. Varlamov went 0-2-1 against the Rangers in 2019-20 with an .857 save percentage and 4.64 goals against average.
Georgiev is backing up Igor Shesterkin. The 24-year-old started 62 games over the last two seasons following a 10-game rookie campaign in 2017-18. Georgiev was much better on the road than he was at home last season with just an .892 SV% and 3.27 GAA at MSG.
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Islanders at Rangers: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Rangers 3, Islanders 2
Money line (ML)
The RANGERS (+100) are even-money underdogs while remaining on home ice for the rematch. The Islanders outshot the Rangers 33-24 Thursday, but that included a 12-3 margin in the third period. All of the Isles’ four goals came in the first 40 minutes when play was much more even.
NYI also went 2-for-8 on the power play Thursday while NYR was 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Expect a much more disciplined game from head coach David Quinn’s bunch as the Rangers pull even in the East Division season series.
Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the spread with much better value on the Rangers to win outright. There were too many flaws in the Rangers’ game to risk the alternate line of NYR -1.5 (+260).
A better goaltending performance and fewer trips to the penalty box will allow for the Rangers to pull out the win in a tight, low-scoring game.
Over/Under (O/U)
These two teams played to a rare Under Thursday. The Rangers will get on the board with their first goals of the season Saturday, but Georgiev will put up a better result than Shesterkin in the season-opener.
Back the UNDER 6 (-110), though the push on an even 6 goals being scored is in the cards. The alternate line of UNDER 6.5 (-140) is more likely to return a profit but at a lower number.
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