Cutter Gauthier kept scoring even when Anaheim’s winning streak stopped. Now the Ducks face an Islanders team that just ended a four-game winless stretch behind Brayden Schenn and an increasingly productive young supporting cast. The question is whether New York can slow Anaheim’s attack without asking its goalie to do all the work—or whether Gauthier can turn this into another game played at the Ducks’ preferred scoring pace.
New York’s support scoring gives it a way in
Schenn delivered a goal and two assists in Thursday’s 5-2 win over Los Angeles. Victor Eklund scored for the fourth consecutive game, Matthew Schaefer struck on the power play in his 100th NHL appearance, and Simon Holmstrom added a goal and an assist. Bo Horvat supplied the late empty-netter. That’s a useful spread of contributions against an Anaheim team that has been winning high-scoring games.
The Schenn-Eklund connection is especially worth watching: Schenn has assists on six of Eklund’s seven goals. New York doesn’t need every attack to run through Horvat if that partnership keeps producing.
Still, one good night hasn’t erased the defensive workload. The Islanders are 4-6 over their last 10 games this regular season, and they allowed at least four goals in three of their last five. Thursday’s result gives them a practical formula to repeat: get contributions beyond the leading forwards, cash in a power-play opportunity and keep the opponent from forcing a scoring race.
Anaheim’s biggest threat survived the setback
The Ducks’ 4-2 loss to Nashville ended a five-game winning streak and an eight-game run of scoring at least five goals. Gauthier nevertheless extended his goal streak to seven games. He scored 14 times during that stretch and reached 16 goals in 18 appearances. Mikael Granlund also had a goal and an assist against the Predators, so New York can’t treat stopping one shooter as the whole assignment.
Special teams offer a clear swing point. Anaheim went 0-for-3 on the power play Wednesday after scoring with the advantage in eight consecutive games. Schaefer’s power-play goal helped New York retake the lead against Los Angeles. If the Islanders spend long stretches killing penalties, they’ll give Anaheim a route back to the scoring rhythm Nashville interrupted.
The moneyline hinges on who handles the workload
DraftKings has Anaheim at -115 and New York at -105, with the total at 6.5. The Ducks’ price is worth considering if you expect their recent scoring depth to keep New York defending for long stretches. But their five-game winning streak included consecutive 5-4 victories; generating offense hasn’t always meant controlling the game.
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The potential counterweight is in net. Neither listed starter is confirmed. Across their respective five most recent completed appearances this regular season, Ilya Sorokin posted a .911 save percentage, while Lukas Dostal posted .837. Sorokin stopped 26 of 28 shots against Los Angeles after stopping 39 of 41 against San Jose. Dostal allowed three goals on 11 shots in a 20-minute appearance against Calgary, his latest outing in the supplied history.
If those are the starters, New York has a credible way to withstand Anaheim’s pressure without matching every goal. That makes the Islanders’ price worth examining, but not simply because they won Thursday. The key is whether they can reduce the burden on Sorokin while sustaining the support scoring. A different goalie matchup would change that comparison enough to reassess both prices.
Can the game get beyond 6.5?
Anaheim’s last 10 games produced eight Overs against their stored totals, with eight straight games of at least five Ducks goals before Nashville held them to two. That supports a high-scoring scenario, but the Islanders offer resistance: Sorokin has allowed two goals in each of his last two appearances, and New York beat Anaheim 3-2 in their October 20 meeting.
We project 29.8 shots for Anaheim and 27.7 for New York. That’s a modest volume advantage for the Ducks, not a reason by itself to expect a scoring avalanche. For the Over to justify the threshold, the stronger case is a combination of Anaheim’s finishing, power-play production and New York exploiting shaky goaltending at the other end. The Under becomes more attractive if Sorokin starts and New York keeps Anaheim at even strength. Watch whether the early shot count comes with repeated possessions or merely isolated attempts followed by clean exits.
Watch the penalties—and the response
Keep an eye on New York’s discipline and whether Schenn and Eklund can answer Anaheim’s pressure with offense of their own. Those details will tell us more than an early goal alone. Visit the NHL betting board to compare this near-even moneyline and scoring threshold with the rest of the slate as the goalie picture becomes clearer.
Odds and projections are snapshots and can change. Wagering involves risk.
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