Our Canucks vs. Islanders prediction covers a Tuesday night meeting at UBS Arena. New York is priced at -225 on the moneyline, and Vancouver comes back at +185. The total sits at 6.0. The Islanders have won two of five to open the season. The Canucks arrive on a four-game losing streak, in the fourth game of a six-game road trip through the East. Goaltending drives almost everything about this one. Below we work through the form, the special teams and the market, then land on the plays.
Last Updated: October 13, 2026
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders — Game Info
| Where | UBS Arena, Elmont NY |
| When | October 13 – 7:45 PM ET |
| TV | MSGSN, ESPN+ |
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders Betting Preview
Start in the crease, because that is where this game gets decided. Ilya Sorokin has started four of five for New York and carries a .937 save percentage, a 1.77 goals-against average and a shutout. He last worked on October 10, so he gets two days of rest. Vancouver’s picture could hardly look more different. Kevin Lankinen is 1-5-0 with a .786 save percentage and a 6.88 goals-against average. Leevi Meriläinen has been far steadier at .929 and 2.18. Thatcher Demko sits on the roster but has not played since hip surgery ended his previous season. The club has set no return timeline. Neither starter is confirmed yet.
The records fill in the rest. New York is 2-3-0 and sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Vancouver is 2-5-0 and sixth in the Pacific. Both clubs hold four points. The gap sits in the goal columns. The Islanders have scored 16 and allowed 13. The Canucks have scored 24 and allowed 35, a five-goal-per-game concession rate. Vancouver has lost four straight by a combined 20-7. Tuesday is game four of a road trip that opened in Carolina and finishes in Tampa.
Special teams are the clearest edge on the board. Vancouver’s penalty kill has fallen to roughly 52 percent, and the club is taking about four minor penalties a game. New York’s power play converts at 25 percent. The shot numbers point the same way. Vancouver generates 21.9 shots a game and allows 30.7. New York generates 24.0 and allows 27.2. In contrast, the Islanders are no offensive juggernaut either, and that matters to how this game is priced. Our Canucks vs. Rangers preview flagged the same pattern two nights ago.
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders Odds
| Puck Line | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canucks | +1.5 (-138) | +185 | O 6.0 (-115) |
| Islanders | -1.5 (+117) | -225 | U 6.0 (-105) |
Odds accurate as of October 13, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest NHL Odds – Futures – Props
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders — Who Is the Public Betting?
| Vancouver Canucks | 49% | 51% | New York Islanders |
See the latest NHL Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers!
Canucks vs. Islanders Prediction — Vancouver’s Goaltending Has Become the Whole Story
Vancouver’s collapse is no mystery. The Canucks’ goaltenders have combined for a .837 save percentage on 215 shots. Lankinen accounts for most of it, allowing 13 goals on 46 shots across his last three appearances. This is not a team being buried by volume. Vancouver concedes 30.7 shots a game, which is poor but survivable. The stopping has failed. Set that behind a penalty kill operating near 52 percent. Then add a power play clicking at 25 percent. New York should reach three or four goals without needing a perfect night.
The margin case leans on two more things. Sorokin’s .937 against a Vancouver attack producing 21.9 shots a game suggests the Canucks will struggle to keep pace. Vancouver’s 3.43 goals per game also rests on a shooting percentage near 16 percent, and that does not hold. Then there is the end of the game. A trailing team pulls its goaltender late. In hockey that turns one-goal results into two-goal results far more often than in any other sport. New York’s two wins this season came by scores of 6-0 and 4-1.
The case against is real and worth stating plainly. The market has moved the other way. New York opened at +110 to win by two or more and now sits at +117, while Vancouver’s cushion has shortened from -130 to -138. Puck-line tickets are split almost evenly at 49% to 51%, so that drift reads as money rather than ticket count. The likeliest explanation is the crease. However, the moneyline tells a different story. It has barely budged from -220 to -225 while 91% of moneyline tickets sit on the Islanders. That is close to a freeze under one-way action. If Meriläinen gets the net instead, Vancouver’s goaltending stops being a giveaway and this turns into a one-goal game. The read is provisional until a starter is confirmed. New York’s own offence is modest as well, at 24.0 shots a game.
The Pick: Islanders -1.5 Puck Line (+117)
Canucks vs. Islanders Prediction — A 52 Percent Penalty Kill Meets a Rested Power Play
Vancouver has killed roughly 52 percent of its penalties, and the problem keeps compounding. The Canucks rank among the seven most penalized teams in the league and have been taking about four minors a night. Against New Jersey on October 10 they surrendered three power-play goals in one afternoon, as our Canucks vs. Devils preview set up. New York converts at 25 percent, and the distribution of that production is narrow. Bo Horvat has four goals in five games, three of them with the man advantage. He also leads Islanders forwards in ice time and the whole roster in shots at 3.40 a game.
The counter is straightforward. This one needs the referees. If New York draws only two power plays, the window narrows quickly. Vancouver has scored two shorthanded goals already, so the Canucks are not passive down a man. Horvat’s rate is also built on five games, a sample small enough to flatter anybody. Still, the price implies 36.4 percent, and the gap between that ask and the read is wide enough to work with. One caveat is worth naming. This play and the one above share the same root input, Vancouver’s penalty kill, so they are not independent.
The Pick: Bo Horvat To Record 1 Or More Powerplay Points (+175)
Our Final Word on Canucks vs. Islanders
This game carries one very large unresolved variable and several settled ones. The settled part is that Vancouver cannot kill a penalty and cannot generate shots. It is also playing its fourth game in six days, three time zones from home. The unresolved part is which goaltender dresses for the Canucks. Both plays above assume Vancouver’s crease stays a liability, and both get materially worse if Meriläinen takes the net and holds his .929. That is the honest shape of it, and confirmations in hockey tend to land in the hours before puck drop rather than the morning of.
The Islanders at -1.5 on the puck line at +117 is our strongest play, because a .837 team save percentage rarely produces a one-goal defeat. Bo Horvat to record one or more powerplay points at +175 follows, on the strength of three power-play goals in his first five games.
NHL Canucks vs. Islanders FAQ: October 13, 2026
What time does the Canucks vs. Islanders game start?
The Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders drop the puck at 7:45 PM ET on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. That translates to a 4:45 PM start on the West Coast. It makes for a late-afternoon watch back in Vancouver, where the Canucks are midway through a six-game eastern road trip.
What channel is the Canucks vs. Islanders game on?
The game airs on MSGSN, the regional television home of the New York Islanders. That coverage is local to the New York market. Viewers outside the territory will need the national streaming option rather than the regional channel to pick up the broadcast.
How can I stream the Canucks vs. Islanders game?
ESPN+ carries the game nationally in the United States. A subscription delivers it without a cable package. That is the simplest route for anyone outside the New York regional territory, where MSGSN holds the local rights. Both listings cover the same 7:45 PM ET puck drop.
Where are the Canucks and Islanders playing?
The game is at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, the home building of the Islanders. Vancouver is the visiting side. The Canucks are playing the fourth of six straight games away from Rogers Arena, on a trip that began in Carolina and ends in Tampa.
What are the Canucks and Islanders records this season?
New York enters at 2-3-0 and Vancouver at 2-5-0, which leaves both clubs on four points. The Islanders sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division and the Canucks sixth in the Pacific. Neither side has found its footing through the opening fortnight.