Florida Panthers vs New York Islanders Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/28/26

It will be an afternoon special when the New York Islanders host the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Florida is the 2-time defending Stanley Cup champion, but this has been a lost season. The Panthers have 11 more games before they can go hit the golf course during the offseason. New York, on the other hand, is in an absolute battle for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders could finish as high as #2 in the Metropolitan Division or miss the playoffs entirely. Given that the home team will be far more motivated to win on Saturday, that’s the way I am leaning for my Panthers vs Islanders prediction.

Home-ice advantage should serve the Islanders well, as they are a solid 20-12-2 in front of their home fans during this 2025-26 campaign. Ilya Sorokin is confirmed to be the starter for this one, which will also help. Sorokin is 27-18-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Meanwhile, Florida is just 2-4 in its last 6 games and 3 of its 4 losses during this stretch have come by at least 3 goals. This is by no means my favorite play on the NHL schedule given the ML price, and New York doesn’t have any value on the -1.5 puck line. But a small play on the Isles to win outright is not a bad play.

Panthers vs Islanders prediction: New York ML (-170) available at time of publishing. Playable at that price.