The Islanders can make or break their seven-game road trip over these next two games.
The Isles are 2-2-1 through the first five contests of this two-week swing, but they’ve got two beatable opponents on the schedule to close out the trip.
Monday’s opponents, the Vancouver Canucks, are in last place in the NHL by a mile.
Islanders vs. Canucks odds, prediction
The Isles are the betting favorite on Monday night, but that may not necessarily be a good thing for Patrick Roy’s side. The Islanders have struggled against inferior opponents this season, going 1-5 against the bottom five teams in the NHL to date.
One of those losses came in a tepid performance against the Canucks just days after they traded away their captain, Quinn Hughes.
The flipside of that equation is that the Islanders have a very strong record against the best teams in the league.
Betting into narratives on their own is never a good idea, but the Islanders’ reverse splits tell us a lot about the type of team they are this season. They’re able to punch up because of their elite goaltending, but they’re not talented enough to put away teams.
Betting on the NHL?
In other words, the Isles are the type of team you want to back as an underdog, but fade as a favorite.
The problem is that the price on Vancouver just isn’t long enough to warrant a bet. Vancouver has been a mess all season, and more changes are coming to this roster sooner rather than later.
And like the Islanders, the Canucks struggle to find the back of the net, especially at 5-on-5. No team has scored fewer goals at even strength than Vancouver this season, which is not a good recipe going against the league’s best goaltender right now.
Don’t be surprised if this ends up as a snoozer, with goals very hard to come by for both teams.
The Play: Under 6 (-105, Caesars)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
