Ice, thrice! All three area NHL teams are in action Monday evening. Both the Rangers and Islanders are coming off road victories Saturday night. The Devils will be dealing with a back-to-back challenge on the West Coast.
Let’s take a quick look at the trio, going in sports book rotation order:
— The Islanders host the inconsistent Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders (-125) rallied from 2-0 down to win in Detroit two nights ago. The Red Wings were the much sloppier side, losing giveaways by a count of 20-8. The Isles are back up to about plus 4.5 units in profit for the season on a record of 14-11-1-2. Pittsburgh (-210) was shocked by Ottawa on Saturday in a 2-1 road loss. The projected league-power Penguins are down a whopping 13 units on a record of 12-10-4-2. The Isles and Penguins met last Thursday, with Pittsburgh (-210) winning 6-2 on home ice.
— The Rangers are still in the Sunshine State after defeating Florida 5-4 in a Saturday night shootout as a +180 underdog. That was a nice score for Rangers backers! The Rangers visit Tampa Bay, winners of a 7-1 blowout Saturday over Colorado at -135 on the money line. The Rangers are up just under three units for investors this season with a record of 14-12-2-1. Tampa Bay is one of the few major success stories this season, up about nine units on a record of 23-7-1-0.
— The Devils will be visiting the San Jose Sharks, with no time to rest off a 6-5 loss in Anaheim in a shootout Sunday night. The Devils are 0-4 on night two of back-to-backs this season, losing 7-3 in Ottawa on Nov. 6, 2-1 in Carolina on Nov. 18, 4-3 in Florida on Nov. 26, and 4-3 in Winnipeg on Dec. 1.
Some follow-ups to recent VSiN coverage here in The Post:
There have been two more “first-quarter” wins for the Brooklyn Nets. They won the first 12 minutes from Toronto on Friday night 24-20, then followed that up with a 30-23 win over the Knicks in a back-to-back Saturday. Brooklyn is now an astonishing 22-6 against the spread on first-quarter lines this season, suggesting an emphasis and substitution pattern that differs from most of the NBA.
The Boston Celtics continued their recent rampage with a 56-point win in Chicago on Saturday night. We talked about the Celtics’ great form in advance of Thursday’s blowout of the Knicks. Boston has covered its last five games by 19 1/2, 20 1/2 11, 14 1/2 and 48 1/2 points. Again … these are not straight-up victory margins … but beating increasing market expectations by those margins in wins!
Oklahoma’s college basketball team remains on fire. Kyler Murray of the football team won the Heisman Trophy to grab headlines. Bettors need to know that Sooners hoops is 7-1-1 ATS this season, following up last Tuesday’s win/cover over Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden with a Saturday afternoon slaughter of Wichita State, 80-48, as 6 1/2-point favorites. OU’s defense held the Shockers to 29 percent on two-pointers and 5-of-27 on treys while forcing 15 turnovers.
While the market continues to underrate Oklahoma, it’s still overrating Kentucky. The Wildcats lost, 84-83, in overtime to Seton Hall in the Garden as seven-point favorites Saturday. Kentucky was just 5-of-20 on 3s, while turning the ball over 16 times. John Calipari’s crew not only falls to 3-6 ATS, but 0-2 straight up and ATS in their only games away from Lexington.
Syracuse also disappointed in a Saturday litmus test in terms of market expectations. The Orange were about 10-point home favorites over longtime rival Georgetown, but managed only a 72-71 victory … shooting just 8-of-28 on treys while getting outrebounded 45-34. Earlier this season, Syracuse was swept in a two-night tourney at the Garden, losing to UConn 83-76 as 7 1/2-point favorites, and to Oregon, 80-65, as 1 1/2-point favorites.
