NHL Picks: How to Bet Islanders on Second Game? Are the Flyers for Real?

Teams On The Back End Of A Back-To-Back

• Calgary Flames
• St. Louis Blues
• Edmonton Oilers
• New York Islanders

Teams On The Front End Of A Back-To-Back

• Washington Capitals
• Montreal Canadiens
• Minnesota Wild
• Vancouver Canucks

Let’s get to work. 

Picking On The New York Islanders?

The crazy aspect of this game is this. The dilemma with the New York Islanders is they are playing the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. This is after beating a rugged Calgary Flames team on Monday 4-3 in overtime. Their number is going to be interesting. Consider the Islanders have won seven of the past nine matchups. That includes a 3-0 shutout on Oct.26.

It is early, but the New York Rangers are playing far from where they were expected. Maybe the weight of being an “IT team” has had an effect. The Rangers are currently 6-4-3, and Igor Shesterkin has looked good but not extraordinary so far. On the bright side, the Russian goaltender is 3-1-1 in his last five starts. He did not start against the Islanders on the 26th.

The expected goaltender matchup will be Semon Varlamov versus Shesterkin on Tuesday night. Sorokin delivered a shutout but was likely to start against Calgary at press time. Varlamov has looked the less consistent of the two and has given up at least two goals in each of his four starts.

The New York Rangers are better than this. They keep making mistakes to lose games. They squandered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2. Chris Kreider was demoted to the fourth line. Gerard Gallant is trying to motivate his players.

The Rangers, in regulation, make a ton of sense in this rare case. The Islanders on the back end of a back-to-back are going against a ticked-off team from Manhattan. That Rangers' 3-way number could be as low as -120 or -130. That may drift down more too. Keep an eye on what should be the matchup of the night. 

The New Jersey Devils' Letdown? 

The one thing about hockey is that tests are inevitable. New Jersey has faced several of them in the past week and, so far, has passed with flying colors. Sorry for using technicolor, but we had to here at gambling.com. 

New Jersey's +13 goal differential is excellent. Their offense has been outstanding in generating shots and scoring chances. The Devils have 36+ shots in 11 of their 12 games so far. They get relentless pressure on the net and make goaltenders work. Their best defense is genuinely a good offense. 

That pans out when looking at expected goals from defensive pairings. New Jersey has three of the top 12 in the early going. Regarding the expected goal differential, the number looks even better. Vitek Vanecek will not look over his shoulder too much as Mackenzie Blackwood is out indefinitely with an MCL sprain.

Hopefully, Jack Hughes gets it going. He may have the quietest 12 points in 12 games one has ever seen. That is the scary part. The Devils could be closer to the league lead in goals. Their chances have come at that high of a volume. Expect a raucous and packed crowd at Prudential Center Tuesday night.

Philadelphia Freedom

Elton John said it best. The Philadelphia Flyers, under John Tortorella, are playing way above their heads. At some point, they may regress. However, until then, they get the benefit of playing a St. Louis team on the back end of a back-to-back. It will be intriguing to see who winds up starting in goal for the Blues. 

Meanwhile, Carter Hart is spearheading the Flyers’ fast start. The goalie is 6-0-2 with a 1.97 goals-against-average and a .946 save percentage. Hart is up to a 2.8 goalie point share in eight starts while saving 12.1 goals more than expected. The backstop keeps the Flyers in games while facing 37 shots per night.

Philadelphia is second to last in goals per game but fourth in goals allowed per contest. Expect lower scoring here, and depending on the Under, look there. Also, look at Hart’s save prop and some Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes shot and point props. Expect a lot of fun on Tuesday night as we vote for our top NHL choices.

Some Picks To Consider

• New York Rangers 3-way
• Jack Hughes shot and point props
• Mika Zibanejad shot, point, and power-play point props
• Carter Hart save prop and the Flyers’ moneyline

Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will have a few more plays on social media as conditions warrant.

All odds today come from BetMGM.