New York Islanders vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 10/28/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC

Where to watch: MSGSN2, Bally Sports South

DraftKings: Hurricanes -190, Islanders +160

FanDuel: Hurricanes -196, Islanders +162

BetMGM: Hurricanes -189, Islanders +155

Caesars: Hurricanes -195, Islanders +162

Islanders: 3-4-0 (6 points)

Hurricanes: 4-1-1 (9 points)

Islanders: won 3-0 vs. Rangers on Wednesday

Hurricanes: won 3-2 at Canucks on Monday

I don’t think we fully know where exactly the New York Islanders are through seven games, but they have found a way to at least look more competitive than the New York Rangers to this point, evidence of their win the other night against their in-state rivals. Now, putting that together a second time against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh would make even more of a statement, but that’s putting the cart before the horse in this instance a little bit.

But after losing three in a row to New Jersey, Tampa and Florida, the Islanders came back with a strong performance in a 3-0 win over the Rangers at UBS Arena on Wednesday highlighted by a 41-save shutout from Ilya Sorokin. Kyle Palmieri scored twice, and Josh Bailey added the other goal in shutting out the reigning Eastern Conference Finalists.

"We were able to turn some pucks over and played a little faster and that resulted in a couple more opportunities for us," Palmieri said.

The Islanders are in a weird territory under new coach Lane Lambert. We’re not really sure what kind of group we’re going to get, but we know the talent the Islanders possess should make them competitive against any team. Whether or not they can contend in the Eastern Conference as a whole remains to be seen, but as long as Sorokin is in net and putting up efforts like that, the Islanders have to feel somewhat good about where things are heading.

“He was outstanding. He made a couple of saves early on," Lambert added. ”I thought he was terrific."

But this is an entirely different beast in the Hurricanes, one of the standards in the league. The Canes are returning from a five-game road trip, come home for this game against the Islanders and then play a back-to-back against the Philadelphia Flyers, in Philly, on Saturday. In short, this is a really dumb schedule but for Carolina to be sitting at 4-1-1 through six games and nearly coming through perfect on that road trip says a lot about this group.

Carolina is coming off a 3-2 win in Vancouver on Monday against the lowly Canucks. Talent took over with Andrei Svechnikov scoring his seventh goal in as many games, and Sebastian Aho adding his fourth of the year early in the third that would eventually be the go-ahead goal for good. Freddie Andersen saw just 16 shots and made 14 saves in what was an otherwise defensive clinic for the Hurricanes that they almost blew, but a win’s a win’s a win, right?

“You’ve got to have your top guys contributing nightly or it’s gonna be hard,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They come to play every game this year. I’m real proud of the group, honestly.

Carolina is so good, it makes you really wonder what it would look like with a healthy Max Pacioretty in the lineup. We won’t know the answer to that until March or so, but the Hurricanes are a contender in the East for a reason and this first six-game stand to start the year is the perfect indication of that. I really like the Islanders, and Sorokin should have a strong outing, but scoring and talent will take over in the end and give the Hurricanes a clear-cut victory at home. Hurricanes win 4-2

Islanders are 56-40 against division opponents the last three years.

Islanders are 54-41 following a division game the last three years.

Islanders are 19-9 after losing three of four the last three years.

Hurricanes are 24-12 after a non-conference game the last three years.

Hurricanes are 62-39 against division opponents the last three years.

Islanders:

Josh Bailey -- Mathew Barzal - Oliver Wahlstrom

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier

Zach Parise -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Kyle Palmieri

Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock

Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson

Sebastian Aho -- Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Hurricanes:

Teuvo Teravainen -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas

Paul Stastny -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast

Jordan Martinook -- Derek Stepan -- Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns

Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan -- Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Points: Anders Lee -- 7

Goals: Anders Lee -- 4

Assists: Mat Barzal -- 7

Goalie: Ilya Sorokin -- 2-3-0, 2.26 GAA, .931 SV%

Points: Andrei Svechnikov -- 9

Goals: Andrei Svechnikov -- 7

Assists: Sebastian Aho -- 5

Goalie: Frederik Andersen -- 3-1-0, 2.26 GAA, .913 SV%