Islanders vs. Hurricanes Game 3 prediction: NHL picks, odds, best bets

You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody rushing to back the New York Islanders on Thursday night.Down 0-2 in their best-of-seven against the Carolina Hurricanes, it’s not just that the Isles lost the first two games of this series; it’s how they lost them.The Islanders were the better team in a 3-1 defeat in Game 1 and then blew a 3-0 lead in Game 2 in a you-just-can’t-make-it-up loss to put themselves in a massive hole as the series shifts to Long Island. The betting market believes this thing is all but over as the Isles are sitting at 11/1 (+1100 — 8.3 percent implied probability) to advance to Round 2. One silver lining for anybody clinging to hope that the Isles can come back and win this series is that they could easily be up 2-0 in the best-of-seven.

That, of course, is a reason for pessimism, too. (7:30 p.m.ET, ESPN)There will always be a little bit of betting value on a team coming off two heartbreaking losses like the Islanders are, but the +134 on the Isles to win Game 3 doesn’t seem enticing enough, considering how this series has played out.

And if you are brave enough to back the Isles on Thursday, you may want to take a hard look at the series spread at +2.5 games (+190, FanDuel) instead. The one bet I do quite like for Game 3 is a play on the first period to end 0-0.The Isles and ’Canes have surprisingly gone Over in both first periods in this series, but I’d imagine things will be a little cagey out of the gates as the Islanders try to get settled after their nightmare on Monday night and the Hurricanes sell out to absorb the push and quiet UBS Arena.The play: First-period Under 0.5 goals (+320, DraftKings)....