New York Rangers vs. Nashville Predators Betting Preview
The New York Rangers will head to Nashville to take on the Predators in this crossover game between the Metropolitan and Central divisions. Puck drop for this game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. eastern from the Bridgestone Arena.
The New York Rangers come into tonight’s game on a two-game winning streak. Their last game took overtime to come away with the win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Predators were able to get their first win of the season in their last game against the Kings by a score of 2-1.
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Betting Odds & Lines
The top sportsbooks at Online Betting Sports have this game as a straight pick’em. What that means is both teams are at -110 moneylines to win the game.
Over at BetOnline, they have Nashville Predators, a slight moneyline favorite at -108, while also having the Rangers’ moneyline at -102. Both sportsbooks have the goals total at 5½.
Can the Rangers Stay Hot?
Consistency is key in the NHL as they do not play an overwhelmingly large schedule. If a team can take a commanding lead in a conference or division early, it is much harder to come back from, especially when teams can obtain single points with overtime. The Rangers are currently a single point behind the Penguins and are in a three-way tie for second place.
Mika Zibanejad has jumped out in front of the Rangers as their points leader. He has accrued five points on one goal and four assists to lead the Rangers. Chris Kreider is the early leader in goals with three. He is the only player on the Rangers roster that has scored multiple goals so far this season.
Building on a Win
The Predators did not have the start they would have wanted to begin this season. Dropping their first two games to the Kraken and the Hurricanes put them in a quick hole. While it was not the best start, both games were decided by a single goal and were highly competitive. The Predators battled the Kings Tuesday night and were able to come away with a big win.
Mikael Granlund has started the season with four points to lead the Predators. He has scored a single goal and assisted on three others. The Predators do not have a single player who has scored more than one goal. Nashville is going to have to generate more often; through three games, they have only scored seven goals.
Goaltender Matchup
Igor Shesterkin will, more than likely, be in net for the Rangers. 2021 will be his second year in a prominent role with the Rangers after getting into 35 games last season. Through the three games he has started this season, Shesterkin is only giving up 1.62 goals per game.
Juuse Saros will be back in the net for the Predators this season. Last season he played in 36 games and gave up just 2.28 goals per game. Saros is off to another great start, giving up just 2.06 goals per game through three games.
The Picks
The Rangers have won their last two road games. Shesterkin is also playing extremely well to start the season; in the last two games, he has given up just a single goal in both games. This is their longest road trip thus far this season, going from Toronto to New York; luckily, they have had several days off since their last game.
This will be Nashville’s fourth home game in a row. If they can not pick up their offensive output, it will be a lot of work for Saros to try and keep the Predators relevant. Expect the Predators to try and get shots on net early and try and jump-start the offense.
When making your online NHL picks, take the New York Rangers moneyline.