Red Wings vs Islanders Prediction, Odds and Picks, Mar 04
The Detroit Red Wings have fallen a long way since their recent stretch where they had won seven out of eight games. If you’ve been tracking the NHL news, you’ve probably seen that they’ve lost four straight games. They were outscored 20-7 in those games.
They’ll hit the road on Saturday, visiting the New York Islanders. New York just lost a shootout to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday for the second loss in its last three games.
Which of these teams is the best option for your NHL picks?
Detroit’s Defense Falling Apart
Defensively, Detroit hasn’t been good. It’s been a key reason for their struggles lately. During this four-game losing streak, they’ve allowed more than five goals in three of them.
The only game that the Wings didn’t allow five goals had them give up three in a shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Simply put, the Detroit Red Wings will need to clean that defense and goaltending up if they are hoping to get back into the win column against the Islanders.
It’s likely that we see Ville Husso in the crease for Detroit. He’s allowed 11 goals in his last two games but had been a rock for most of the season. He was 6-4-0 with a 2.61 GAA and a .913 save percentage during just the month of February as well.
However, if you bet online, note that he’s allowed at least four goals in four of his last seven starts.
Islanders Offense Doesn’t Provide Enough
If the Red Wings goaltending is struggling, maybe that’ll help the Isles get their offense going. If you bet sports online, you probably know that the New York Islanders have a great defense and goaltending unit. The problem for them has been the lack of a consistent offense.
They rank in the bottom half of the league in goals scored per game, and were hoping that the addition of Bo Horvat could boost that group. In 12 games played with them, he’s netted eight points to provide a boost. They need more team-wide, though.
One important thing to note with this offense is that their star Mathew Barzal is out of the lineup indefinitely with a lower-body injury. That obviously impacts their NHL playoff odds.
He’s been inconsistent, though, but his impact can’t be understated on a unit that is desperate for any offense they can muster. It’s looking like it’ll be up to Horvat and Brock Nelson to create offense.
Nelson has a team-high 60 points and has stepped up as of late to fill in for the injured Barzal.
Red Wings vs Islanders Game Injuries
These teams have squared off twice. Detroit shut out the Islanders 3-0 in the first matchup. New York shut out the Red Wings in the second matchup 2-0.
Red Wings vs Islanders Game Information
- Game: Red Wings (28-24-9) Islanders (31-25-8)
- Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, NY
- Day/Time: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET
- Red Wings vs Islanders Live Stream:NHL.TV
Red Wings vs Islanders Betting Lines
Red Wings vs Islanders Picks and Prediction
Detroit has been bad defensively in the past couple of weeks, allowing far too many goals to win. Meanwhile, the Islanders are without one of their top offensive weapons in Barzal.
An inconsistent offense going up against a struggling defense could make the other end that much more important. If that were the case, roll with the under in the sportsbook.
The Isles defense is ranked seventh in the league in goals allowed per game while the Red Wings’ offense is ranked 21st. New York’s defense should give them the edge and keep this game low-scoring.
New York is listed at -200 in our Vegas NHL lines. So, if you wager $100 on the Islanders, there’s a chance to win $50. The Red Wings are +170 with a chance to win $170 on a $100 wager. The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the RedWings a 37.04% chance to win, with the Islanders at 66.67%.
