The New York Islanders (28-15-5) visit the New York Rangers (23-20-4) at Madison Square Garden for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop Tuesday. We analyze the Islanders-Rangers odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Islanders at Rangers: Projected starting goalies
Thomas Greiss vs. Alexandar Georgiev
The Islanders are sending out backup Greiss to fill-in for a struggling Semyon Varlamov. Greiss has a 13-7-1 overall record but has a better save percentage and goals against average than Varlamov at .923 and 2.45, respectively.
Georgiev was brilliant in the last Islanders-Rangers game, stopping 38 of 40 shots in a 3-2 Rangers’ victory Jan. 16. The win moved Georgiev to 12-9-1 on the season with a .913 SV% and 3.06 GAA.
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Islanders at Rangers: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Rangers 5, Islanders 2
Moneyline (ML)
Let’s bet the more rested RANGERS (-110) on the MONEYLINE. The Islanders are playing their third game in four nights, one of which included a 3-2 loss to these very Rangers Jan. 16. The Rangers are 2-0 thus far in the season series and have won four of their last five games against the Islanders. Georgiev has won two straight over the Isles, stopping 60 of 64 shots on goal.
New to sports betting? Bet $110 to earn a profit of $100 if the Rangers win outright.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The Rangers are an elite team against the spread with a 31-16 ATS record, and the Islanders are a poor ATS team with a 22-26 record. Also, the Rangers play better as a favorite—they have a plus-0.78 goal differential as a favorite versus a minus-0.11 goal differential as a dog. Keeping that in mind, the Rangers are 19-5 overall when following a loss, and they have won by two or more goals in each of their last five home victories over the Islanders. Since we’re on the Rangers to win outright a puck line bet on the Rangers could maximize our return on investment.
SPRINKLE a smaller wager on RANGERS -1.5 (+240) on the puck line.
Over/Under (O/U)
PASS on the projected goal total of 5.5.
I lean Over (-133) because the Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in the Garden and the Rangers are third in the NHL in total goals per game. The Over is just too much vig, and the Islanders rank 28th in total goals per game. Their combined Over/Under record is 43-49.
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