The New York Islanders continue to play their best stretch of hockey heading into this Saturday matinee against the Boston Bruins.
The Islanders have won both of their contests against the B’s this season and they are buzzing right now, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Bruins have been playing just as well, if not better than the Islanders as they are 8-1-1 in their last 10.
Find out who has the betting edge with our Islanders vs. Bruins NHL picks and predictions for Saturday, March 26.
Islanders vs Bruins odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Islanders opened up as +160 road underdogs and the total opened up at 5.5 and hasn’t had any movement.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Islanders vs Bruins predictions
Predictions made on 3/25/2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Islanders vs Bruins game info
• Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
• Puck drop: 12:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NHL Network, MSG+, NESN
Islanders vs Bruins betting preview
Key injuries
Islanders: Scott Mayfield D (Out), Cal Clutterbuck F (Out).
Bruins: Patrice Bergeron F (Questionable), Josh Brown D (Questionable), Jakub Zboril D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Islanders vs Bruins head-to-head record
Islanders: 2-1-1 SU, 9 goals for.
Bruins: 2-2-0 SU, 8 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 4-0-2 in the Bruins’ last six games overall. Find more NHL betting trends for Islanders vs. Bruins.
Islanders vs Bruins picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The New York Islanders have been playing some incredible defensive hockey in their past five games. They’ve outscored their opponents 15-7 during this span and have gotten excellent goaltending from both, Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
Sorokin has done everything possible for this hockey club to remain competitive this season and he’s the reason that the Islanders aren’t completely out of the playoff hunt right now — but Varlamov has been getting most of the playing time as of late.
The Boston Bruins have found their new No. 1 goalie in Jeremy Swayman. The second-year pro has established himself as a legitimate NHL netminder. He has yet to start against the Islanders in his career, as Linus Ullmark played the two previous games, so it will be very exciting to watch these two youngsters go up against each other.
If you include the playoffs, the Islanders have bested Boston in their last five meetings. The Islanders top line has been the best they’ve been all season in the last 10 games. This line consists of their captain, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier. During this span, Lee has 10 goals and six assists, Nelson has nine goals with five assists and Beauvillier has one goal with nine assists.
The Bruins’ top line has been missing what could arguably be their biggest piece. Patrice Bergeron has been out with an elbow injury and is ruled questionable. Even though Bergeron might be out the lineup, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand can still drive the play. Pastrnak is coming off of a hat trick in the Bs’ last game against Tampa, helping them secure a 3-2 win.
If you ask me, this game is close to a toss-up with how well both of these teams are playing right now, but I do think the Islanders have the slight edge. The Islanders have shown how well they match up against Boston and the Bruins offense has not produced as well as the Isles’ has lately.
The goaltending pretty much cancels itself out since both goalies have been incredible, but I’m going with the healthy team that’s been scoring more goals, and that’s the Islanders.
Prediction: Islanders ML +160
Over/Under analysis
Not only is this a highly anticipated goalie matchup, but both team defenses rank in the Top 10. The Islanders are the fifth-best defensive team in the league — as a team they only allow 2.61 gpg and the Bruins are right behind them, in sixth, allowing 2.64 gpg.
The Bruins have struggled mightily producing on offense against the Islanders this season. In two games, the Bs have only scored two goals. Granted that they were on the road for both of those games, but they were not able to solve Sorokin and Varlamov, as both goalies had an appearance.
Not only have they struggled against the Islanders, but even though they are finding ways to win games, they aren’t scoring many goals. In their last five games, they have only scored a total of 14 goals, which isn’t terrible, but it isn’t necessarily great production.
The Islanders have been scoring more than usual lately, but the offense hasn’t been there all season, which means they could be due for some regression. This season, they are only averaging 2.73 gpg and rank (27th) in shots on goal per game.
With this being an important game for both teams and the strength of their team defenses, this game should remain close and low-scoring.
Prediction: Under 5.5 (-115)
Best bet
This game is all about the goalie matchup. Swayman will be getting his first start against the Islanders, at 19-8-3 on the season with a .925 save percentage and a tenth-best 12.8 GSAx. Swayman has gotten the last two starts for his team has played very well in the blue paint. In both games combined, he faced 52 shots and stopped 48 of them.
Varlamov might not be the guy that’s carried the Islanders all year, but he has played very well in his last couple of starts. I won’t be surprised if he starts this game, but I think Barry Trotz is going to give the nod to Ilya Sorokin. Right now, Sorokin is second in the league in shutouts with six and he is skating to an 8.9 GSAx.
These teams are in the Top 10 in almost all defensive categories, which leads me to believe that this will be a defensive battle on Saturday afternoon. I love the goalie matchup and I love the Under.
Pick: Under 5.5 (-115)
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