Betting on the New York Islanders

Betting on the NHL and New York Islanders is now a possibility online across the home state. All eight available online sportsbooks feature hockey odds, both on a game-by-game basis and in future bets.

Learn more about how to bet on the New York Islanders when odds become available. We’ll cover specific games, future odds, and team and player props.

3 Best Sportsbook Apps for New Yorkers 

The three best sportsbook apps for New Yorkers looking to bet on the Islanders are BetMGM NY, BetRivers NY, and FanDuel NY.

Each of these companies offers a retail sportsbook in New York. Islanders bettors can also download a NY sportsbook app and place a wager in New York and/or in nearby states where online gambling is legal. The table below displays where each sports betting app is available and the current promo offer.

How To Bet on the Islanders in New York

For those looking to bet on the New York Islanders, it can be done in many ways. If one is looking to place a bet in New York, it can be done on a computer or mobile device or at a retail sportsbook.

To bet online or at a local retail sportsbook in New York, you must be 21 or older. Online gambling is available in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. You don’t need to be a resident of that state, so it’s perfectly legal for New Yorkers to bet on the Islanders in any of these states.

There are also different bets one can make on the Islanders. People can bet on odds for winning a game, making the playoffs, or winning the Stanley Cup. They can also make prop bets, such as how many assists a certain player will get in a game. 

How To Bet on the Stanley Cup in New York

You can place a futures bet on a team to win the Stanley Cup. This bet can be made at any time, and the odds of the team may change as the season goes on.

In this case, the odds on the New York Islanders winning the Stanley Cup differ among various gambling apps in part because bookmakers try to balance their books. Essentially, if one team is receiving a lot of bets due to odds, the bookmaker can change the odds of another team to make it more appealing. That way, more people will take those odds and help the books to be balanced.

The best way to find the current Stanley Cup odds for the Islanders or any other NHL team is to visit the NHL futures section of a sportsbook like FanDuel Sportsbook. FanDuel currently offers a promo for new users where they get a “no-sweat first bet” worth up to $200.

Where To Bet on the Islanders in New York

There are lots of options to bet in the state of New York. In addition to online sportsbooks, there are a number of retail sportsbooks for bettors who prefer to place wagers in person. The below table lists the casinos and their sportsbook partner.

Most of those sportsbooks have odds for every sport. Both FanDuel and DraftKings take bets on each NHL game as well as futures bets like the odds of making the playoffs or winning the Stanley Cup. 

The odds that these sportsbooks offer may differ from each other. Again, there are numerous reasons as to why this happens, one being to balance the books. One team may be receiving too many bets which may cause a sportsbook to change the odds of other teams.

How NHL Betting Odds Are Calculated 

Betting odds in the NHL are very similar to betting odds in other sports. For each game, there is a moneyline along with a spread, which is often called the “puck line” in hockey. Odds are calculated based on a number of factors such as the opponent, the location, how each team has been performing recently, and more.

To make matters simple, let’s take a look at an example.

According to FanDuel, the Tampa Bay Lightning were favored in their 2021-2022 season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The moneyline for the Lightning was -164, and it was +138 for the Penguins.

What does the moneyline mean?

• It means that the team you bet on has to outright win the game. The minus (-) sign indicates the favorite in the matchup and the amount you must bet to win $100. In this case, if you wanted to win $100 by betting on the Lightning, you would need to wager $164 (payout of $264).
• The plus (+) sign indicates the underdog in the matchup and the amount you would win if you bet $100. So a $100 bet on the Penguins would win $138 (payout of $238).

Popular Ways To Bet on the New York Islanders 

When betting on a single NHL game, there are numerous ways to place wagers. The one highlighted in the above section is the moneyline.

There is also an Over/Under set before the game which relates to the combined number of goals scored by both teams. For example, if the number is set at 4.5 and you bet the Over, that means the total goals scored between the two teams must be at least five. In contrast, if you bet the Under, that means the total goals scored by both teams must be no more than four. 

Prior to or during the game, you can also place bets on whether a tie will occur. These odds can drastically change throughout the course of the game as oddsmakers adjust them to reflect the current score.

Another interesting wager to make on game day is a parlay. Parlays are when you make one bet with multiple games involved. For example, you could bet on three games in one night. If you get all three correct, the amount you win is greater than if you had placed an individual bet on each game. But if even one of your picks loses, you lose the entire bet.

What Is an NHL Futures Bet?

An NHL futures bet is a wager placed on an event that you think will occur in the future like the winner of the Stanley Cup.

Another example of a futures bet is whether a team makes the playoffs or wins their division. Again, futures bets can be made at any time during the season or offseason.  

How To Place Prop Bets on the New York Islanders

Player prop bets are fun side wagers that fans can engage in on a game-to-game basis.

Essentially, a player prop bet is a separate bet where you can guess how many goals a player will score in a single game or some other statistical measure. For example, the Over/Under may be set at 1.5, and you have to bet on whether or not that player will score more or less than that number in a particular game.

Another popular prop bet is picking which team scores the first goal.

Brief History of the New York Islanders

The Islanders, or “Isles” as they are commonly referred to, joined the NHL in 1972. In an effort to fend off the new World Hockey Association, the NHL wanted another team in the Big Apple.

The league brought in William Shea, the man responsible for bringing the Mets to New York 10 years earlier. Shea’s job was clear — bring another hockey team to New York and strengthen the NHL as the premier hockey league in the US. After much back and forth with the New York Rangers (who objected to the competition), Shea helped establish the Islanders as the second professional hockey team in the New York City area.

The Islanders at UBS Arena

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum served as the home of the Islanders for almost 50 years, but it became outdated. They’ve also periodically played at the Barclays Center, home to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Islanders are now playing in their new arena, UBS Arena, at Elmont, New York. This $1 billion structure is a state-of-the-art, multi-use arena that is a joint venture with the Islanders, Oak View Group, and Sterling Equities. The Islanders began playing in their new home in the 2021-22 NHL season.

New York Islanders Stanley Cup History

In less than 10 years from their entry into the NHL, the Islanders were crowned Stanley Cup champions. Beginning in the 1979-1980 season with their first Stanley Cup victory, a dynasty was born.

The team went on to win the Stanley Cup in four consecutive seasons — 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. The Isles reached the Stanley Cup Finals again in 1984, but they lost to Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers.

The Islanders in the 1980s:

• 1980: First Islanders Stanley Cup Final victory
• 1980-1983: Four consecutive Islanders Stanley Cup victories
• 1984: Islanders lose the Stanley Cup Final to the Edmonton Oilers

The Islanders’ four Stanley Cup titles tie them with their crosstown rival Rangers and give them one more than the New Jersey Devils. Forming the backbone of these championship teams were future Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies, and Denis Potvin.

As the early 1980s became the late ’80s and 1990s, things turned south for the Islanders. Early playoff exits were quickly replaced by a playoff drought lasting seven years (1994-2000). The team again faced a playoff drought of five years from 2007-12. Since the 2012-2013 season, the Isles have made the playoffs more regularly.

Islanders Top Rivalries

You’re safe in assuming that local area teams like the Rangers and Devils would stir up the biggest rivalries for the Islanders. After all, few places on Earth are more competitive than the New York tri-state area for professional sports.

But since the mid-1970s, there’s another NHL team that has become one of the most intense rivalries for the Islanders and their fans: the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Isles and Pens have met six times in the playoffs with the Isles prevailing in five of the series. Despite that, the Penguins have managed to win the Stanley Cup five times since the 1990-1991 season.

New York Islanders Betting FAQs