{"id":446982,"date":"2026-02-05T12:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/446982\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:58:10","slug":"isles-and-devils-in-their-classic-short-cross-state-rivalry-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/446982\/","title":{"rendered":"Isles and Devils In their Classic Short Cross-State Rivalry Matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey\u00a0look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the\u00a0New York Islanders<\/a>\u00a0taking on the\u00a0New Jersey Devils.<\/a>\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions: New York Islanders vs New Jersey Devils<\/p>\n

Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>\u00a0TV: MSGSN2, MSGSN<\/p>\n

2025-26 Season Series: Islanders lead 3-0<\/p>\n

This matchup in our NHL predictions features two heated Metropolitan Division rivals who are trending in different directions. Coming into this one, the Islanders are third in the division with a record of 31-21-5. Through 57 games, that has them at 67 points on the season. Meanwhile, the Devils are hovering around .500 in seventh place in the division. They hold a record of 28-26-2 after 56 games that has them at 58 points on the season. This is the fourth and final matchup between these two, the Islanders having won the previous three. This is both teams\u2019 last game before the Olympic break, and it takes place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

The Islanders Story<\/p>\n

The Islanders come into this game after snapping a two-game losing streak with a thrilling overtime win. They have been playing well lately, winning four of their last six games. Their offence has been inconsistent throughout the season. Furthermore, they come into this contest ranked 25th in the league in goals for, averaging 2.84 per game. The star players have been showing up for them as of late. Team point leader Mathew Barzal<\/a> takes a three-game goal streak into this matchup. He has earned four multi-point efforts with five goals and seven assists over his last nine games. Bo Horvat<\/a>, since returning from his injury, has five points over the seven games. He scored twice, including the overtime winner last time out. The two stars have been put back together on a line, and it has benefited them and the team tremendously.<\/p>\n

Defensively, the team still ranks fifth in goals against with 2.74 per game. However, they have been allowing too many grade-A chances against. They have allowed four goals against in each of the last three games. A strong penalty kill has kept those numbers from being more inflated. That unit ranks eighth at a 82.3% kill rate. Led still by rookie Matthew Schaefer<\/a>, he continues to impress in his first year. After two points in the last game, he has three goals and two assists over his last five games. Goaltending continues to be a strong point for this team as well. Backup David Rittch<\/a> is 12-8-3 with a .900 save percentage. While starter Ilya Sorokin<\/a> continues his strong season. Winning four of his last six games, he is 19-13-2 with a .915 save percentage.<\/p>\n

The Devils Story<\/p>\n

The Devils come into this game not playing their best hockey. They take a two-game losing streak into this game and have lost four of their last five games. A sluggish offence can be one of the culprits. Scoring one or fewer goals in the last two games. They rank 30th in goals for at 2.54 per game. With Jack Hughes<\/a> sidelined with an injury, generating goals won\u2019t be easier. They will rely more on Nico Hischier<\/a>, who leads the team with 41 points in 56 games. Cody Glass<\/a> steps into a bigger role, centring the team\u2019s top line. Since January 11th, he has been playing his best hockey of the season and has 10 points in 11 games.<\/p>\n

Defensively, things are a little better but not much. They rank in the middle of the pack at 16th with 3.07 goals against per game. In three of the last five games, they have allowed four goals or more. The Devils have given up the third-most high-danger chances in the league. This has led to subpar goaltending play from their tandem in net. There has been a near-even split in their workloads. Starter Jacob Markstrom<\/a> has made 29 starts and is 15-13-1 with an .882 save percentage. While backup Jake Allen<\/a> has made 26 starts and holds a 12-13-1 record with a .906 save percentage. Neither goalie is annouced but Markstrom let up nine goals the last time these teams faced, so maybe they will think about turning to Allen here.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/p>\n

Coming into this game, one team is fighting to hold playoff positioning, and the other has a lot of ground to make up. The Islanders hold the advantages offensively, defensively, and goaltending-wise and have won all three matchups to this point. The Devils do hold the home ice advantage, but that won\u2019t be enough to flip the tides here. New York needs these points more in their playoff push, so expect them to come out aggressive and complete the season series sweep of their rival.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Islanders win 4-2<\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/p>\n

According to the popular sportsbooks, this game is basically a pick \u2019em. Both teams\u2019 money line sits at -110, and with the prediction made, we would be taking the Islanders at those odds. The over\/under is set at 5.5. Even with the injury to Hughes, the Islanders have not been playing their best defensively, and New York scored nine times in the last matchup. We would take the over at -106. \u00a0As far as anytime goal scorers, for the Islanders, it\u2019s Barzal. He is at +240 and is on a three-game goal streak. Look for him to keep it going here. For the Devils, it is Hischier at +210 with Hughes out, he needs to shoulder more of the offence, we expect him to do that here tonight.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Ed Mulholland \u2013 Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey\u00a0look at the games…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5110],"tags":[5,122,1777,3328,159,33100,5190,5189,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-446982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-islanders","10":"tag-new-jersey-devils-predictions","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-islanders","13":"tag-new-york-islanders-predictions","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkislanders","16":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}