The New York Islanders (29-24-15) and Detroit Red Wings (35-28-6) will square off Thursday at Little Caesars Arena. The opening faceoff will be at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Islanders vs. Red Wings odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Islanders are looking to snap a 5-game losing skid (0-4-1). New York last played Tuesday at home, dropping a 4-1 contest against the Carolina Hurricanes. Four of the Isles’ 5 losses in the streak have been by multiple goals.
The Red Wings are on home ice for a 2nd straight game. They downed the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime Tuesday. How much the home venue matters is a matter of debate. Detroit is just 2-3-0 over its last 5 at home, and that stretch opened with a 5-3 setback against these Islanders Feb. 29.
New York and Detroit have split 2 games this season, with each club winning on road ice.
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Islanders at Red Wings odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 9:45 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Islanders -105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Red Wings -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Islanders +1.5 (-250) | Red Wings -1.5 (+195)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Islanders at Red Wings projected goalies
Ilya Sorokin (22-17-11, 3.03 GAA, .909 SV%, 2 SO) vs. James Reimer (8-7-2, 2.98 GAA, .907 SV%, 2 SO)
Sorokin allowed 3 goals on 33 shots in Tuesday’s loss to Carolina. He started both earlier games against the Wings and allowed 7 goals (all even-strength). The 28-year-old netminder logged an .885 SV% across those 2 starts.
Reimer was the winner Tuesday against the Jackets. He stopped 32 of 35 shots and owns a .934 SV% in his last 2 starts after faltering in a few early-March games.
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Islanders at Red Wings picks and predictions
Prediction
Red Wings 4, Islanders 3
Moneyline
New York is just 14-15-5 on the road (0-3-0 in last 3). This is a 1-game road voyage for the Islanders, who are 1-3-0 in their last 4 such efforts. Two of those 3 road setbacks came against a subpar Montreal Canadiens club.
The last 4 series meetings at Little Caesars have seen Detroit go 3-1-0. The Red Wings have been underplaying recent expected-goal outputs and are a short-term candidate for some regression. In 5-on-5 play, they have been hurt by recent percentage lag, both in shooting and in save percentage.
Detroit has a top-10 power play (23.2%), and the Isles head into this contest with the NHL’s worst penalty-kill percentage (71.4%).
BACK THE RED WINGS (-115).
Puck line/Against the spread
Avoid the copious amount of juice here: PASS.
Over/Under
The Over cashed in both previous meetings this season. With the Isles having allowed 17 goals over their last 4 games, and their suspect rate of actual goals allowed to expected goals, the OVER 6.5 (+100) is the lean here.
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