Islanders vs. Sharks Prediction, NHL Odds & Best Bets (11/9)

Fact checked at 9:42 AM ET, Nov 9, 2026

Odds as of 8:24 AM ET, Nov 9, 2026

The Islanders (7-6-3) start a three-game California trip at SAP Center at 10:00 PM ET, and they catch the Sharks in a five-game losing streak. San Jose is 7-11-1, has won only twice in regulation and is 3-5-0 at home. New York is winless in three, though it took a point from a 5-4 overtime loss to New Jersey two nights ago, a game in which Ilya Sorokin made a season-high 45 saves.

Our case starts with San Jose's offense. The Sharks have 47 goals in 19 games, 2.47 a game and 30th in the league, and they scored eight in the five losses of this skid. Their defense is 29th at 3.58 allowed per game, so the Islanders will get looks. New York doesn't score much either, though (2.88 a game), and that adds up to an Islanders win by two or more in a game with few goals. The Islanders are -133 on the moneyline and San Jose is +114. Sorokin and Yaroslav Askarov are projected to start, and neither club has confirmed its goalie.

Islanders vs. Sharks Predictions

• Pick #1: Islanders -1.5 (+180)
• Pick #2: Under 6.5 (-118)

PICK #1: Islanders -1.5 (+180)

Nine of San Jose's 19 games have ended in a loss by two goals or more. Three of the five losses in this skid fit that description: 5-1 to Ottawa, 7-2 to Los Angeles and 4-1 to Minnesota. At +180 the puck line implies 35.7%, and the Sharks have lost by that margin about 47% of the time.

San Jose gives up about 30 shots a game, and the goalie behind that defense, Askarov, has a 3.35 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage. Sorokin is at .910. On the puck line, New York has 49% of the money on 38% of the bets, so the bigger tickets are on the Islanders laying the goal and a half.

New York's own record is the risk. The Islanders have won by two or more in just 3 of 16 games, they're 3-3-1 on the road, and they played at home two nights ago before heading west. Ryan Pulock is still out on defense. The Sharks have won four games in overtime and one in a shootout, and a one-goal Islanders win loses this bet. Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli are on the trip and have skated in regular jerseys, but no return has been announced, so this pick doesn't need either one. San Jose is coming home from a road back-to-back in Minnesota and Dallas and has had a day off since.

PICK #2: Under 6.5 (-118)

This is the same game from the total's side. San Jose scores a goal or two, and New York gets enough to win without a track meet. Only two teams score less than the Sharks' 2.47 a game, and the Islanders are 24th at 2.88.

The Under has hit in five of San Jose's last six home games. Across both teams' games this season, 19 of 35 stayed under 6.5 (Islanders 9 of 16, Sharks 10 of 19), and -118 implies 54.1%, so the season record by itself only gets you to break-even. The matchup is what pushes it past that. Sorokin has a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average, the best numbers of any goalie in this game, and tonight he gets one of the league's weakest attacks.

The public sees it the other way, with 79% of the bets and 78% of the money on the Over. Four of the Islanders' last five games went over the closing total. Those opponents were Carolina, New Jersey, Minnesota and Nashville, though, and all four average at least three goals a game. The real threat to this pick is a loose night in both creases, with goals at both ends, and that would hurt the puck line as well. Both goalies are projected, and a change in either net would change how this total reads.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.