New York Islanders at New York Rangers 1/14/21: NHL Hockey free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2021-01-14 19:00:00 EDT
The New York Islanders and New York Rangers meet Thursday in NHL action at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Islanders are coming off a 35-win season where they were two victories away from a Stanley Cup Final appearance. The Islanders didn’t add anybody noteworthy this offseason, but they did say goodbye to Devon Toews, Thomas Greiss, Johnny Boychuk, Derick Brassard and Tom Kuhnhackl. While it’s hard to argue the Islanders got better this offseason, Barry Trotz is a manager to gets the most out of his roster and his defensive style has worked in his time in New York. It’s not always pretty, but the Islanders play effective hockey and will be a tough out once again.
The New York Rangers won 37 games last year and made the qualifying round, their most successful season since their 2016-17 bid. The Rangers lose Henrik Lundqvist, Lias Andersson and Jesper Fast, while they added Anthony Bitetto, Colin Blackwell, Jack Johnson and Keith Kinkaid. Igor Shesterkin has some big shoes to fill at the goalie spot and we’ll get to see the top pick in Alexis Lafreniere work his way into the professional ranks. It’s also going to be interesting to see if Tony DeAngelo can build on his successful season last year. The sky isn’t falling for the Rangers, but things will have to break right if they’re going to make some noise in this 2020-21 season.
The Islanders are 1-5 in their last 6 Thursday games. The Rangers are 1-4 in their last 5 home games and 0-4 in their last 4 overall. The under is 3-1-1 in Islanders last 5 overall. The under is 4-0 in Rangers last 4 overall. The Islanders are 12-4 in the last 16 meetings in New York and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
The New York Rangers have had the success against the Islanders over the years, but they’re breaking in some new pieces and don’t have the leadership and consistency of Lundqvist in net anymore. We know what we’re getting from the New York Islanders out of the gate, and that’s a tough defensive minded team that plays hard and finds ways to win. I like knowing what I’m getting when there’s no sample size to judge. Give me the Islanders.
