New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators Picks and Prediction for Saturday, October 18, 2025

We have an interesting Eastern Conference NHL matchup as the New York Islanders, standing in eighth place of the Metropolitan Division with a 1-3-0 record, clash with the Atlantic Division’s sixth-place Ottawa Senators, who bring a 2-3-0 record to center ice for our Islanders vs. Senators prediction. Set in the heart of the Canadian Tire Centre on October 18th at 3:00 PM ET, fans can catch the action live on ESPN+. This will be the first of three meetings between these teams this year, with the next game scheduled in March. Net the value: NHL predictions for the New York Islanders at the Ottawa Senators with trends that matter.

Islanders Looking to Figure Things Out

The New York Islanders, positioned in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 1-3-0 record, head into this game with some momentum. The latest game against the Edmonton Oilers at home, 4-2, was a victory, and it helped score two unanswered goals in the third period as Bo Horvat recorded the hat trick.

Offensively, New York has been doing a terrible job at finding the back of the net, averaging 2.75 goals per game, which is tied for 22nd in the sport. The Islanders' power play has been at a great level, converting at an 18.8% clip, showcasing their inability to score with a man advantage. Their defensive game shows they are going to be alright, conceding an average of 3.75 goals against per game, highlighting an area of improvement needed early on this season.

On the goaltending front, goaltender Ilya Sorokin is going to need to improve significantly in the net for this game and is 0-3-0 with a .854 save percentage and 4.18 goals per game given up. The Islanders need to improve on multiple fronts to get going and start a winning streak.

Injury Report for New York

• Defenseman Ethan Bear: Undisclosed (OUT)
• Left winger Pierre Engvall: Hip (OUT)
• Left winger Jesse Nurmi: Knee (OUT)
• Goalie Semyon Varlamov: Knee (OUT)

Senators Looking for Some Home Cooking

The Ottawa Senators, playing at a middling level up to this point as they are in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 2-3-0 record early on, face a team that is playing at a lesser level. Their recent game at home against the Kraken, a 4-3 shootout win, reflects a team that can keep the game close throughout. Center Shane Pinto is leading the franchise with seven points (six goals, one assist). The Senators are relatively healthy, but are missing Brady Tkachuk as he continues to be a massive piece of the team.

Ottawa’s offensive output has been middling thus far, with the team sitting in a tie for 17th place in the league for goals scored, averaging 3.00 goals per game. The Senators’ power play, operating at a 22.2% success rate, and their penalty kill at 50.0%, highlight areas of the game that are needed to step up as the season continues.

Goaltending is one of the team’s strong suits, with Linus Ullmark doing a poor job this year as he is 2-2-0 with a .862 save percentage and 3.73 goals allowed per game. Their defense needs to step up to get back to .500 on the year.

Injury Report for Ottawa

• Left winger Brady Tkachuk: Thumb (OUT)

New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators Pick

Spread Pick for Islanders vs. Senators

• New York Islanders +120 (4 units)

The Islanders are looking to step up and after winning against the Edmonton Oilers last time out, they have momentum going into this game. The Senators are struggling to figure things out, especially on the defensive side of the ice this season, as they are allowing 5.00 goals per game entering this matchup. New York ranks third in the NHL with 33.3 total shots per game, which means they are going to apply a lot of pressure on the Ottawa defense and should be able to take advantage. All in all, go with the New York Islanders to win as a road underdog.

Over/Under Pick for Islanders vs. Senators

• Over 5.5 (5 units)

Ilya Sorokin and Linus Ullmark have been brutal throughout the season and need to figure things out as the season goes on. Bo Horvat is coming off a hat trick, which should be able to help lead New York’s offense throughout the game (his first three goals of the season). Both defenses are absolutely brutal at killing penalties, as they have allowed a combined 13 power-play goals against them, so when these teams have a penalty called, they are in a position of weakness to defend it. The over has hit in three of the four Islanders games, while the Senators have had the over hit in four of their five games thus far, so take over 5.5 total goals to score.