Two teams that’ve served more than 21 penalty minutes combined per game, the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers collide at Madison Square Garden. The action will get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 21, and fans at home can watch this divisional matchup live on MSG2.
New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers Odds
The Rangers (-125) are favored over the Islanders (+105), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals. If bettors want to play this matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -105 for the over and -115 on the under.
Earning 4.3 units for moneyline bettors, the Rangers are 11-10 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Metropolitan Division in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 34-48 record from last year’s regular season campaign. 12 of their 21 outings have gone under the total, while nine have gone over and none have pushed. This year, the team is 8-3 SU at home.
The Rangers have converted on 20.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 76.4 percent of all penalties.
The Rangers, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.4 times per game overall this season, and 5.4 per game over their last five contests home outings. The team has been forced to stave off opposition power plays for 13.0 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
With a .919 save percentage and 29.4 saves per game, Henrik Lundqvist (8-9-2) has been the primary option in goal for the Rangers this year. If head coach David Quinn chooses to rest him, however, the Broadway Blueshirts could go with Alexandar Georgiev (3-2-2 record, .894 save percentage, 3.60 goals against average).
The Broadway Blueshirts will continue to look for leadership via Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Kreider (18 points) has produced 11 goals and seven assists and has recorded multiple points on six separate occasions this year. Zibanejad has seven goals and 10 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 12 games.
The Islanders have netted 4.9 units for moneyline bettors this year and are currently 10-9 straight up (SU). A total of nine of their contests have gone over the total, while eight have gone under the total and just two have pushed. As a road team, New York is 5-5 SU so far.
The Islanders have converted on 18.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and they’ve successfully killed off 78.5 percent of all penalties.
Islanders skaters have been penalized 4.3 times per game in total this season, 4.4 per game over their last five games total, and 3.8 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Thomas Greiss (25.8 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for the Islanders. Greiss has eight wins, four losses, and one OT loss to his credit, and has registered a .925 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average this year.
Josh Bailey (six goals, 13 assists) has been one of the top offensive playmakers for the visitors.
New York Islanders at New York Rangers Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five outings.
Power plays and penalty kills may be key in this game. The Islanders are 3-4 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-5 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Rangers are 3-1 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 7-5 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
The Rangers are 4-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while the Islanders are 1-1 in shootouts.
The Rangers have created 11.6 takeaways per game over their last five home games, an improvement over their season average of 7.7 takeaways per game (ranked 12th).
The Islanders have managed 7.4 takeaways per game over their last five road games, an improvement over their season average of 6.1 takeaways per game (ranked 27th).
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