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Islanders vs. Hurricanes prediction and odds for NHL Playoffs Game 1

By Josh Yourish

Apr 8, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a glove save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a glove save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NHL playoffs are here and while the Bruins are the story in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes are the other top seed in the conference.

The Hurricanes finished with 113 points and narrowly edged out the Devils for the No. 1 seed in the metro division. With that they get to face the No. 1 wild card team, the New York Islanders. The Hurricanes had a record of 52-21-9

The Islanders finished with 93 points and a record of 42-31-9. They’ve ridden their goaltender, Ilya Sorokin into the postseason and will be looking to pull the round one upset. The Hurricanes are favorites in the series and in Game 1. Let’s look at the odds for Monday night.

Islanders vs. Hurricanes odds, puck line and total

Islanders vs. Hurricanes prediction and pick

The leading scorer for the Islanders was Brock Nelson with just 75 points. Mathew Barzal has played like that star at times, but he played 58 games this year and scored 51 points, so he wasn’t even a point a game player. Barzal is currently listed as day-to-day. Bo Horvat was a point per game player in Vancouver, but only had 16 points in 30 games with New York.

The best player on the ice for the Islanders will be Ilya Sorokin who had a 2.34 goals against average along with a .924 save percentage. He was third in the league in save percentage and could certainly steal a few games in this series. The Hurricanes had a rotation with Frederik Anderson and Antti Raanta. As a team they were second in goals against average, but neither netminder is as capable as Sorokin is to stand on his head in the playoffs.

These two just faced off and it was a 2-1 win for the Hurricanes. For the year the under was 43-35 in Islanders games and 45-35 in Hurricanes games. The under is also 8-2 in Carolina’s last 10 games. That’s my bet for Game 1.

Pick: UNDER 5.5 (-125)

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change