New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators Prediction, NHL Odds
The Ottawa Senators will play the second game of a four-game homestand on Sunday when they host the New York Rangers. It’s a quick turnaround for the Sens following a 3-2 overtime loss against Boston on Saturday night. The Rangers are also coming off a 3-2 extra time loss, falling at home to Detroit in a shootout on Thursday.
New York is a -201 favourite to win on the NHL odds, with a total of 6.0.
Rangers vs. Senators NHL Betting Odds
This is the Rangers’ second trip to Ottawa this season. New York came out on the right side of a 3-2 decision on Oct. 23, with leading scorer Chris Kreider picking up a goal and an assist in the win. It was the sixth time in the last seven games of this head-to-head series that the total has gone Under.
The Rangers have done well against the Atlantic, winning five of their last six against teams from the division. They’re 24-25 against the spread for the season, covering in 14 of 26 road games. The total has gone Under in five of New York’s last six games.
Ottawa enters Sunday with losses in four of their last six games. They’re 27-21 ATS overall, including 13-12 ATS at home. Don’t be surprised if this is a low scoring game, as the total has gone Under in 13 of the Senators’ last 15 games overall and 10 of their last 12 at home.
New York Rangers
New York’s loss on Thursday snapped a three-game win streak for the Broadway Blueshirts. K’Andre Miller scored his fourth goal of the season and Mika Zibanejad added his 19th, but that was as far as the Rangers got against Detroit. Zibanejad now has points in five of his last six games. Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves through regulation and overtime before stopping four of six players in the shootout. Artemi Panarin assisted on Zibanejad’s goal, bringing his team-leading point total to 53 (13G, 40A) on the season. Kreider, who is second in the NHL with 33 goals, was held off the scoresheet for the third time in four games.
Shesterkin should get the start again on Sunday. The leading Vezina candidate has compiled a 23-5-3 record this season, ranking second in the NHL with a 2.05 goals-against average. He also leads the league with a .938 save percentage and is fifth in shutouts with three. Kaapo Kakko will miss his ninth consecutive game with an upper-body injury and is expected to be out of the lineup for at least another month.
Ottawa Senators
Tim Stutzle and Nick Holden both found the back of the net for Ottawa on Saturday, but the team only managed one shot in overtime before David Pastrnak won it for the Bruins. It was Stutzle’s 100th career NHL game. Anton Forsberg stopped 30 of 33 shots faced. Despite the loss, it was a much better performance for the Senators. Ottawa was outshot 22-9 in the first period alone against Boston a week ago. It was a big improvement on Saturday as they were outshot a respectable 11-9 in the first period and 33-31 overall. Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 36 points (16G, 20A), while Josh Norris has a team-best 18 goals. Norris is out of the lineup with a shoulder injury.
Matt Murray is still dealing with an undisclosed injury, so it will be Filip Gustavsson in net against the Rangers. Gustavsson has bounced between the NHL and AHL this season, going 3-8-1 in Ottawa with a 3.80 GAA and .892 SV. Defenceman Thomas Chabot and forward Drake Batherson will both be out of the lineup on Sunday. Chabot has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, although he could return for Tuesday’s game against Minnesota. Batherson is dealing with a high ankle sprain and targeting a return sometime in April.
NYR
OTT