Dallas Stars vs New York Islanders Prediction, Preview and Odds - 03/26/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, March 26, 2026

Venue:  UBS Arena, Elmont, NY

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Stars -125, Islanders +105; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Stars -125, Islanders +105; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Stars -125, Islanders +105; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Dallas Stars:  43-17-11 (2nd place, Central Division)

New York Islanders:  40-27-5 (4th place, Metropolitan Division)

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Dallas Stars:  5-3-2 last 10

New York Islanders:  5-5-0 last 10

The Stars are entering this game with 97 points, a 43-17-11 record overall, and they are 21-7-7 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the New Jersey Devils in their last game, losing that one at home 6-4. Wyatt Johnston led the team in goals scored with 2 while Jason Robertson and Mavrik Bourque each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Jason Robertson and Thomas Harley each led the team in assists with 2 while Jason Robertson led the team in shots on net in that game with 10. Jake Oettinger was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 8 shots with 4 saves and a .500 save percentage before getting pulled and being replaced by Casey DeSmith who allowed 1 goal on 16 shots with 15 saves and a .938 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 244 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 196 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The Islanders are entering this game with 85 points, a 40-27-5 record overall, and they are 19-12-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game, losing that one at home 4-3. Anders Lee, Calum Ritchie, and Simon Holmström each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Bo Horvat, Carson Soucy, Mathew Barzal, Matthew Schaefer, and Scott Mayfield each led the team in assists with 1 while Bo Horvat led the team in shots on net in that game with 9. David Rittich was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 12 shots with 9 saves and a .750 sv percentage before getting pulled and being replaced by Ilya Sorokin who allowed 1 goal on 12 shots with 11 saves and a .917 save percentage. Their offense has scored 209 goals this season averaging 2.9 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 206 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Islanders listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Islanders have looked good in their games this season with their 40-27-5 record overall which has them in the top half of their division in the East. They have looked good on home ice too with their 19-12-2 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Stars have looked great in their games this season with their 43-17-11 record overall which has them right near the top of their division in the West with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have been a great road team too with their 21-7-7 road record this year. As good as they have looked all year, the Stars haven't looked that great in their games lately and this is a much bigger game for the Islanders too. The Stars are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and they have been in a bit of a slump lately with 3 losses in a row now. They are off a 6-4 loss to the Devils in their last one, but they have already clinched a playoff spot for this year so they have taken the pressure off of themselves and don't need to keep pushing right to the end of the regular season. The Islanders haven't looked that great either as they are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and coming off a 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks in their last one, but they have also slipped down to 4th place in their division and need to win these games. The Islanders can still get a playoff spot in their division, but right now they are in the Wild Card race, so this game has a lot more meaning to the Islanders and they will be looking to bounce back on home ice where they have been so good. They have also looked great on the defensive end lately while the Stars have been giving up a ton of goals, so look for the Islanders to take advantage of the Stars not being at their best lately. The best way to place a bet here is on the Islanders to win this game. 

Stars Islanders Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, March 26, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Islanders 2 Stars 1.

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Dallas Stars: 164-107 (+10.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 140-80 (+11.8 units) on the moneyline as a favorite. 63-43 (+8.7 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss versus opponent as a favorite. 38-24 UNDER on the road when the money line is -100 to -150.

New York Islanders: 115-126 (-18.6 units) on the moneyline in all games. 60-56 (-5.9 units) on the moneyline in home games. 43-52 (-14.8 units) on the moneyline in non-conference games. 8-3 UNDER versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 0.5+ goals/game.

Dallas Stars:  M. Rantanen (RW) Out - Lower-body. R. Hintz (C) Out - Lower Body. R. Faksa (C) Out - Upper-body. T. Seguin (C) Out For Season - ACL.

New York Islanders:  T. DeAngelo (D) Day To Day - Lower Body. R. Pulock (D) Day To Day - Lower-Body. A. Romanov (D) Out - Shoulder. P. Engvall (LW) Out For Season - Ankle. S. Varlamov (G) Out For Season - Knee. K. Palmieri (C) Out - Knee.

“We self-inflicted ourselves the last few games. We have to work our way out of a little dip here, for sure. Two months ago, three months ago, we were talking about the same ebbs and flows and dips in the season and we’re talking about them now. As I come in here, [I was] asked before, ‘Have you peaked too early?’ No, I was never worried we were going to sustain that kind of pace, but now we’ve got another little adverse conditions we’ve got to work ourselves out of so it might have come at the right time.” - Glen Gulutzan after his team’s loss against the Devils in their game on Tuesday.

“We turned over pucks at the blue line and they took advantage of it. We talked about it before the game. It's a team that has a lot of good rush players and it's a good rush team. So I mean, if we give them that chance, that's what's going to happen. It's fine that we were making mistakes, but I feel like we should have recovered from it. We should have backchecked and tried to protect the net-front on that first goal. And I thought that was maybe the difference in the game.” - Patrick Roy after his team’s loss against the Blackhawks in their game on Tuesday.

LW Jason Robertson

C Wyatt Johnston

RW Mavrik Bourque

LD Esa Lindell

RD Miro Heiskanen

G Jake Oettinger

LW Anders Lee

C Bo Horvat

RW Emil Heineman

LD Matthew Schaefer

RD Adam Pelech

G David Rittich

Points: Jason Robertson (85)

Goals: Wyatt Johnston (40)

Assists: Miro Heiskanen (50)

GAA: Casey DeSmith (2.40)

Points: Mathew Barzal (65)

Goals: Bo Horvat (29)

Assists: Mathew Barzal (47)

GAA: Ilya Sorokin (2.52)

Coaches:

Dallas Stars: Glen Gulutzan (1st season)

New York Islanders: Patrick Roy (3rd season)