Canucks vs Islanders: Prediction, Team News and a Goaltending Gulf

Result: New York Islanders 3-2 Vancouver Canucks

Kyle Palmieri scored twice, including the winner. He and Matias Maccelli struck 53 seconds apart late in the first, Vancouver levelled through Max Sasson and a Brock Boeser power-play goal with 65 seconds of the second period left, and Palmieri settled it early in the third. Matthew Schaefer set up two of the three.

Our pick: New York. Correct, and we called 3-2. Five goals meant the under landed as well. We said this matchup has a habit of tightening up, and after an eight-goal night against the Rangers on Sunday it duly did.

The preview as published before the game follows.

Ilya Sorokin is stopping 96.5 per cent of what he faces. Kevin Lankinen is stopping 79.6. That is the widest gap between two starting goaltenders on Tuesday’s schedule.

Canucks vs Islanders also brings Bo Horvat up against the club he captained, though he is day to day and may not play.

How to watch

Sportsnet Pacific has it in Canada. Regional coverage can differ from the national listing, and our how to watch the NHL in Canada page has the full picture.

Canucks vs Islanders odds

Moneyline prices from 6 Canadian sportsbooks, captured on 2026-10-13. American odds throughout.

These are stored prices rather than live ones, and a hockey line moves the moment a starting goaltender is confirmed, so check before you bet. Availability varies by province: PlayAlberta and PlayNow are provincial platforms rather than open-market books, and the private sportsbooks operate where they hold a licence. Our NHL betting sites page sets out which operates where, and who is expected in net is on our projected NHL starting goalies page.

Sorokin is the reason New York is 2-2-0

Eight goals conceded in four games. Ilya Sorokin has taken three of the starts at .965 and Semyon Varlamov the other. No club in the East has given up fewer.

Bo Horvat has four goals and leads the scoring. He captained Vancouver before moving to Long Island, and he is listed day to day, so the morning skate matters.

Brayden Schenn, who arrived from St Louis, has four points. Matthew Schaefer has three assists from the blue line and Logan Stanley four.

Mathew Barzal is on injured reserve and Alexander Romanov is out, so New York is doing this without two regulars.

How they compare

Vancouver finished 32nd last season and New York 19th, and the goals-against column still separates them.

Vancouver scores and concedes in equal measure

Twenty-one goals for, twenty-five against in five games. Elias Pettersson has eight points, Paul Cotter four goals and Filip Hronek five assists.

Marco Rossi, who came from Minnesota in the Quinn Hughes trade, has four points. Hughes himself now leads the Wild in scoring and has not been a Canuck since December 2025.

Kevin Lankinen is 1-3-0 at .796 and was pulled in Carolina after conceding six. Leevi Meriläinen has the better numbers and won the one game he started.

Thatcher Demko remains on injured reserve after hip surgery, which is the absence underneath all of this.

One win each last season

Vancouver won 4-1 on Long Island in December and New York won 4-3 in Vancouver in January. The away side took both.

Team news

Horvat is the morning-skate call. League-wide availability is on our NHL injury report.

Players to watch

Ilya Sorokin. A .965 save percentage across three starts.

Bo Horvat. Four goals, and a reunion with the club he captained if he is fit.

Elias Pettersson. Eight points in five and finally producing at the rate Vancouver pays for.

Paul Cotter. Four goals, which nobody had on their card in September.

Score prediction

Vancouver Canucks 2-3 New York Islanders. New York has conceded eight goals in four games and Vancouver has conceded twenty-five in five. Sorokin is the difference unless Vancouver’s forwards overwhelm him.

Canucks vs Islanders prediction

New York should win this on goaltending alone. Sorokin at .965 against Lankinen at .796 is a gap no forward group closes comfortably.

Vancouver’s case is that it scores. Twenty-one goals in five games is more than New York has managed, and Pettersson and Cotter are both going well.

Horvat’s fitness is the swing. Without him New York loses its leading scorer and this becomes a much more even game.

Our lean: New York, and the under if the total sits at 6 or higher. New York has conceded eight in four and Sorokin is playing as well as anyone. Where both sit is on our NHL power rankings.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Odds are approximate at the time of writing and changeconstantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.