Trends Suggest Strong UNDER Play on Rangers-Islanders

The New York Rangers have roared back from a dismal start to the season and are knocking on the door of the East Division playoff race – but there’s still work to be done as they visit the rival Islanders on Tuesday. The Rangers (23-16-6 SU, 18-25-2 O/U) enter their matchup with the Isles (28-13-4 SU, 16-27-2 O/U) having won four straight to improve to 13-4-3 in their past 20.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Islanders kicked off the betting cycle in the -140 to -145 range, but that number has settled in at -130 in the majority of spots. The total has held steady at 5.5, with the UNDER at -120 and the OVER at +100.

Rangers News & Notes

New York has been on an absolute tear over the past month or so, but is it too little, too late? The Rangers remain four points back of the fourth-place Boston Bruins, who have also won four in a row to maintain their four-point advantage over New York. The Broadway Blueshirts will close out the regular season with a pair of games against the Bruins on May 6 and 8.

As for Tuesday’s showdown with the Islanders, it will be critical for the Rangers to carry over some of the momentum from their winning streak, particularly on offense. New York has just 11 goals in five games against its cross-state rival, with Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich the only skaters to score more than once for the Rangers in the season series.

Islanders News & Notes

The Islanders have made a living out of low-scoring games – one of the main reasons they own one of the most impressive UNDER records in the league entering Tuesday. New York is one of only eight teams with 60 or more points despite having just one player (Mathew Barzal) with more than 30 points on the season.

Barzal might be worth a look both in daily fantasy and on his player prop. He’s averaging a point per game (one goal, four assists) against the Rangers this season and is on a nearly identical pace at Nassau Coliseum with nine goals and 14 assists in 22 home games. In DFS, he should fly under the radar given the Islanders’ season-long offensive struggles.

Betting Pick: UNDER 5.5 (-120)

The teams have averaged a minuscule 4.2 goals through their first five meetings, with none of those encounters producing more than five total tallies. That’s a strong trend, and one worth playing here.