Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers odds, picks and predictions
The Tampa Bay Lightning (27-18-5) take on the New York Rangers (31-16-3) Wednesday. Puck drop at Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the Lightning vs. Rangers odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The last meeting between the Bolts and Rangers was down in Tampa Dec. 30, and it was the Rangers who won in dominating fashion 5-1. The home team has won 8 out of the last 10 between these teams, and only once in the last 9 meetings has the total gone Over.
New York came out of the All-Star break in thrilling fashion as they defeated Colorado in OT 2-1 Monday. LW Artemi Panarin, the team's leading scorer, tied it up midway through the 3rd period, and LW Alexis Lafreniere found the back of the net for the game-winner less than 2 minutes into OT. G Jonathan Quick made 32 saves, his 2nd-highest amount in a game this season.
This is the 1st game for Tampa out of the break. Entering All-Star weekend, Tampa had won 8 of its last 9 games, significantly improving its chances at making the playoff (89.1% according to Moneypuck). RW Nikita Kucherov -- who enters Wednesday tied atop the NHL with C Nathan MacKinnon in points -- has the 2nd-shortest odds to win the Hart Trophy (+300 at FanDuel Sportsbook).
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Lightning at Rangers odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:10 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Lightning +104 (bet $100 to win $104) | Rangers -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Lightning +1.5 (-235) | Rangers -1.5 (+190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -108 | U: -114)
Lightning at Rangers projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (16-10-0, 2.85 GAA, .899 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Jonathan Quick (11-4-2, 2.35 GAA, .918 SV%, 2 SO)
The Big Cat will be getting some key defensemen in front of him back in the lineup as both D Erik Cernak and D Mikhail Sergachev are expected to return from injury. In his career during the regular season, Vasilevskiy has a higher GAA post-All-Star break (2.71) compared to before (2.37).
While G Igor Shesterkin has been working to "dial in," the 38-year-old Quick has played his best hockey in years. The future Hall of Famer is sporting the 5th-lowest GAA in the NHL and is 1st in high-danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage (min. 15 games played), according to Moneypuck.com.
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Lightning at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Lightning 4, Rangers 3
Moneyline
BET LIGHTNING (+104).
The Bolts probably wished the All-Star Game was played later in the season, as they won 3 consecutive games by a final score of 6-3 coming into the break. With the top power play in the NHL (29.3%), I expect Tampa to stay hot offensively while supporting Vasilevskiy enough to get the win.
Puck line/Against the spread
PASS.
Lay over 2 dollars of juice on a team playing on the road in front of a lively MSG crowd? No thanks.
Over/Under
BET OVER -6.5 (-108).
The Rangers power play is also formidable, ranking 3rd (27%), and only 3 teams in the NHL have scored on more rebounds than both Tampa and New York, which both have 18. Neither Vasilevskiy nor Quick have strong metrics when it comes to puck freezes this season, so expect a number of 2nd-chance scoring opportunities.
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