Islanders vs Devils Prediction & Odds (Sep 20)

The First Number Is Usually the Softest

No odds are posted for Islanders vs Devils yet. That is the whole tension here. When a game has not been priced, the first line a sportsbook hangs is often the one with the least information baked into it, and four players are already ruled out between these two rosters. Sunday, September 20, 2026, 1:00 PM ET at Prudential Center. A one o'clock hockey start tells you exactly what kind of afternoon this is, and it changes how we read the eventual price.

The Matchup

The event data lists this as the 2027 season, season type 1, which is preseason hockey. That matters more than any trend you could imagine. As of publication both the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils sit at 0-0-0. No games logged. No season series between them to lean on. No standings position we can honestly quote. So anyone selling you a form read on Devils vs Islanders right now is filling space. What we actually have is a home building, a Sunday matinee, and two out lists. That is the board.

Players to Watch

No statistical leaders were provided for this game, so we will not invent any. The honest players-to-watch list is the availability list. Four names are ruled out across both sides, two per team. For the New York Islanders it is Mathew Barzal and Quinn Finley. For the New Jersey Devils it is Johnathan Kovacevic and Nick Bjugstad.

A forward like Barzal missing is felt on the puck-possession shifts and the power play. A defenseman like Kovacevic missing is felt in the minutes nobody watches, the penalty kill and the defensive-zone starts. Watch who the coaches use to replace those roles, because in preseason those replacements are often the point of the exercise.

The Numbers

Since there is no price to walk through, here is what to look for when the board opens. The moneyline is the simplest bet in hockey: pick who wins, overtime and shootout included. A minus number is the favorite and tells you how much you must risk to profit $100. A plus number is the underdog and tells you the profit on $100 risked. The puck line is hockey's spread, almost always set at 1.5 goals, so the favorite must win by two or more and the underdog gets credit if it loses by exactly one.

The total is the combined goals by both teams, and you bet over or under it. The vig is the book's built-in commission, the reason both sides of a coin flip never pay even money. When prices post, check three or four books before you click, because a half-point of total or a few cents of moneyline is the only edge most bettors ever truly control.

Where the Value Is

Strip the vig out of the two moneyline prices and you get the market-implied probability, which is what the market thinks after removing the commission. Never call that the market-implied chance. It is just the market's opinion, cleaned up. Expected value is the dollar version of the same idea: on $100 risked, a bet is worth holding when your estimated chance of winning clears the break-even rate that the price demands.

Without a posted number we cannot run that math, so we keep the read directional. We lean New Jersey. Home ice, a matinee start that favors the club that slept at home, and an Islanders out list that includes their most impactful missing skater. If the Devils open as a short favorite, we are interested. If the market makes them an expensive one, the edge leaves with the price.

Injuries

Out for New Jersey: Johnathan Kovacevic and Nick Bjugstad. Out for New York: Mathew Barzal and Quinn Finley. Two names each, four in total, all listed Out with no ambiguity to price. Nothing dated after Sunday's 1:00 PM ET puck drop should change these designations.

The Pick

Desk analysis, not an official documented play: New Jersey Devils moneyline, taken at the best price on the screen whenever books post this one. Best price for a favorite means the number closest to zero, since that is the smallest amount you must risk for the same $100 of profit. If New Jersey opens as a dog, the biggest plus number wins.

The Prediction

Preseason scorelines run loose, and we expect a choppy, line-shuffling afternoon in Newark. Devils 3, Islanders 2. That is the read on a game without a number yet; the Desk posts a documented free play on days like this, and it sits right below.