New York Islanders at New York Rangers Betting Preview
22 December 2022
NHL rivals are set to meet up on Thursday night when the New York Rangers host the New York Islanders. As both teams are starting to become Stanley Cup title contenders again, you are going to see the intensity crank up for this matchup.
The Islanders come into this game with 38 points on the year, but they haven’t been playing great hockey of late. The Islanders have lost four of their last five games, and they are looking to bounce back in a big way.
The Rangers come into this game with 41 points on the year, and they have bounced back from a poor start to the season. New York just had a long winning streak snapped, but they are now returning home for what should be a good stretch.
The Rangers are the moneyline betting favorites at -156 over the Islanders.
Islanders Must Get Stops
The New York Islanders are allowing just 2.73 goals per game this season, but they have struggled on that end of the ice of late. New York did hold Colorado to just one goal in their most recent game, but they were routinely giving up four or five goals per game during a stretch.
The Islanders have been pretty decent on special teams this year, as they have killed off 81 percent of their own penalties. New York does need to find more offense on the power play, and that has been a weakness of late.
Brock Nelson has been the best offensive player for the Islanders, as he leads the team with 15 goals and 33 total points. The Islanders don’t want to get into a high-scoring affair against their biggest rivals, as they wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Rangers Finally Finding Offense
The New York Rangers were not a good offensive team to begin the year, but they have changed that over the last few weeks. Artemi Panarin has been the biggest reason for the bounce back, as he leads the way with 32 assists and 40 total points.
New York is also scoring on the power play, as they have converted 23 percent of the time. Panarin plays a big role in that unit, but there have been other players that are stepping up as well.
Igor Shesterkin continues to play well in the blue paint as he has gone 16-5-4 and is holding opponents to just 2.4 goals against per game.
Rangers Take Care of Business
Momentum means something in the NHL, and the Rangers are playing much better than the Islanders at this time. The Rangers have been scoring a ton of goals of late, and they are going to have a big day on offense in this one as well.
The Islanders are going to be able to score some goals to stay in this game for two periods, but they just won’t be able to hang in there for three periods. The Rangers want to beat the Islanders in this game, and they have the offense to get it done.
Bet the New York Rangers -1.5 in this game as they are going to beat their biggest rival by two goals on Thursday night.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
