Panthers vs Islanders Prediction, Pick & Odds (Sunday, Mar. 1)

• The Florida Panthers are -144 moneyline favorites when they visit the New York Islanders Sunday
• New York has reeled off four straight wins and have just two losses in the last nine
• See my Panthers vs Islanders prediction and latest odds below

---

The Florida Panthers (30-26-3, 14-12-0) don’t have a lot of time or games to get back into the playoff picture.

They kick off a crucial 4-game road trip Sunday against the streaking New York Islanders (34-21-5, 16-10-2 home), who have ripped off four straight wins.

And yet the books are riding with the defending champs, pegging them as road favorites in the NHL odds.

Puck drop is set for 6:30pm ET from UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, with ESPN providing the broadcast coverage.

Panthers vs Islanders Picks & Prediction

• Islanders ML (+115 at Bet365)

The Islanders have unveiled their clutch gene of late. With a 4-3 OT win over Columbus Saturday night, New York’s 4-game winning streak has seen three of those wins come in overtime.

Offense has been nice too: the Isles are 22nd in league scoring, pumping in just 2.88 goals per game, but during this fun run, where they’ve ripped off wins in seven of nine, New York has potted at least four goals in five of those victories.

They’ll need more goals against the Panthers in general, as they’ve hit the 4-goal plateau just once in the last six head-to-head matchups.

That will help out a defense that’s been rock solid this year, ranking a solid fourth in goals against at 2.72 per game.

New York also happens to be adept at handling the back-to-back scenario. They have a sparkling 6-2-1 record when playing on a second consecutive night.

Panthers vs Islanders Key Stats

Florida, meanwhile, has seen mixed results coming out of the Olympics. They hammered the Maple Leafs 5-1, but followed that up with a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last game.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are currently eight points back of the Boston Bruins for the second and final Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference. The problem is, there are also four other teams inside of their path to the Bruins, making it quite a trek to find their way back into the postseason.

Yet, the Stanley Cup odds currently have the Panthers in the 8-spot at +3000, for a team that currently ranks 13th in the East.

They’re hoping a win against the Isles can jump start the run. They have owned this head-to-head of late, winning four of six, while scoring at least four goals in three of those victories.

That’s a punch up from their regular-season average, where they average 3.00 goals per game. They’ll need as much offense as possible, with their goaltending ranking Bottom-8 in the NHL, allowing 3.29 goals per game.

But this feels like a different New York team than the one Florida dumped 4-1 back on December 7. This is NewYork’s third chance to hit a season-high 5-game win streak, and their goaltending and their ability to pull out close games should help them break through.

Panthers vs Islanders Odds

Odds as of March 1. The interactive table above will automatically update as the NHL odds move over the course of the day.

Taking Florida to win outright comes with -135 odds, courtest of bet365. Taking the visitors on the puckline has much greater juice, at +195 odds.

New York is the betting favorite at +118 over at FanDuel. That’s far better juice than taking them at +1.5 on the puckline, which come with -210 odds.

Over bettors can head to bet365, where the total sits at 5.5 goals, while Under bettors can get another half-goal on cushion over at BetMGM.