The New Jersey Devils (1-2-0) and New York Islanders (2-1-0) tangle in a Thursday night affair at UBS Arena. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Devils vs. Islanders odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
New Jersey opened the season with back-to-back 5-2 losses but then righted the ship with a 4-2 home win over the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday. The Devils outshot the Ducks 41-20 in that game, and they have exhibited dominant puck-possession analytics through 3 games.
The Islanders are closing out a stretch of 4 straight home games to open the season. New York has won back-to-back games in high-scoring fashion: the Isles scored a combined 12 even-strength goals in downing Anaheim 7-1 and the San Jose Sharks 5-2.
In an 11-11 exchange in goals scored, the Islanders took last year’s season series 3-1.