Free Picks: New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers

After opening the season with two straight games (resulting in two straight shutouts) the Rangers and Islanders prepare to square off once again. Both teams have picked up a win and have also been shutout, so it will be interesting to see each teams’ respective performances. The Rangers and Islanders are two of the top defensive teams in the NHL, but I have an itch that there won’t be any trouble scoring Monday night.

Both teams and fanbases have a ton riding on this game. Two points are up for grabs, alongside pride.

The theme for this contest is defense. The Rangers and Islanders are ranked highly in goals against per game and totals goals against. The Rangers sit happily in 10th for goals against, while the Islanders one-up them as they sit in 9th spot.

Even though both teams have been stellar on defense, I think we see the opposite for this game. In all my years of betting, I have learned the hard way that what happened last game doesn’t necessarily mean the exact same thing will happen in the next contest.

In the early going of the season, the Rangers and Islanders swapped victories and also swapped shutouts. This is very good for the total over/under bettors. See, while the Isles and Rangers have two of the best defenses, we’ve seen some dramatic scoring between these two teams. 9 goals combined is nothing to scoff at (over two games) and that is with two shutouts as well.

What I am getting at is if we see some sloppy hockey or both offenses find the back of the net on Monday, I think these teams can knock the total goals out of the park. Currently listed at 4.5 (888Sport), this is a tremendous opportunity to cash in on some goal scoring.

When I bet the over here on BetPicks, we’re used to seeing 5.5 or even 6.5 as the total goals margin. For the under to hit, we’ll need to see a low scoring game. Granted, we’ve seen some low scoring games between the Rangers and Islanders already, but that is with a shutout. If both teams manage to find the back of the net I am confident in this pick and prediction.

Let’s bank on the Rangers and Islanders finding scoring success Monday night.

• The Islanders rank 9^th in shots against per game.
• NYI has scored 2 or more goals in 5 straight games.
• The Rangers are 8-2 ATS this season.
• NYR ranks 3^rd in offensive shots.