Pregame: Red Wings Expect the Islanders to Play With Urgency

Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde isn’t being fooled by the New York Islanders‘ 2-3-2 record in their last seven games.

“I can see why that was a playoff team last year,” Lalonde said. “It was about this time last year that they made a push and got over that line. I think they’ll make that push again this year. They create a lot of issues in all different situations on the ice.”

They beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Bo Horvat’s overtime goal on Monday. With the upbeat Patrick Roy now coaching New York, there’s a fresh layer of optimism surrounding the team.

“You look at the depth of their lineup,” Lalonde said. “You get these home games, and you start thinking through matchups. They’re a handful. I love all four of their lines, I love their D and their goalie (Ilya Sorokin). He’s one of the best in the league.”

The matchup favors the Red Wings on the statistical front. The Red Wings ran fourth in the NHL in scoring with a 3.58 goals-per-game average, while the Islanders are 23rd at 2.91. Detroit is also giving up fewer goals per game (3.15) than the Islanders (3.33).

Streaking Red Wings Favored

The Red Wings have won six in a row, and are playing like one of the NHL’s top teams.  Detroit holds the top Eastern Conference wild-card position and has a 10-point lead over the Islanders. But as a team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since 2016, the Red Wings won’t allow itself to be over.

Detroit is a -1.5  (-126) favorite on FanDuel. NY state sports betting analyzed by Sportytrader has the best sportsbooks.

“I feel like we just continue to have to work day by day and live day by day,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon said. “I think that being process-oriented and kind of taking each day as it comes and each game as it comes important and kind of how we approached it so far. It’s super important we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ve still got a lot of games left. We just have to continue to do the right things.”