Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers Prediction, NHL Odds
In the lone matchup of Monday’s NHL slate, the Ottawa Senators are set to take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Both teams are on the outside looking in when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but the Senators are still hanging on to postseason hopes.
Ottawa enters this contest with 81 points on the season, which puts them four points behind the Islanders for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. On the other side, New York’s 65 points on the season are the fewest in the Eastern Conference, putting them significantly outside the playoff picture.
This will be the third and final meeting between these teams this season. They split the previous two matchups this season, with New York winning 4-2 on December 4 and Ottawa winning 8-4 on January 14.
Senators vs. Rangers NHL Betting Odds
The Senators own a record of 36-24-9 on the season, while the Rangers are 28-33-9. With the Rangers at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, it’s not surprising to see the Senators favoured on the NHL odds in this matchup. Ottawa enters with odds of -192 on the moneyline while New York is at +160.
When it comes to the puckline, both teams are slightly below the .500 mark on the season. More specifically, Ottawa is 32-37-0 against the spread while New York is 34-36. In this matchup, Ottawa -1.5 is valued at +124, while New York +1.5 has odds of -148. The game total is set at 5.5, with odds juiced to the Over at -130 and odds to +110 on the Under. The Senators tend to play in high-scoring games, as they’re 38-31-0 to the Over this season. Conversely, New York tends to play in lower-scoring games, as the Over is 32-36-2 for the Broadway Blueshirts.
With odds of +150, Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk has the shortest odds of any player to score a goal in this game. Tkachuk has 19 goals in 49 games this season, and has found the back of the net twice in his last four games. With odds of +205, New York’s Mika Zibanejad has the shortest odds of any Ranger to score a goal in this contest. Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 30 goals in 69 games.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators enter this matchup coming off back-to-back wins over the Islanders and Maple Leafs. However, both of those games came on home ice at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators hit the road for this Monday night showdown against the Rangers, where they are 18-13-4 on the season.
As previously mentioned, the Senators play in plenty of high-scoring games. They rank ninth in the NHL, scoring 3.35 goals per game, and rank 21st in the league, allowing 3.09 goals per game. The penalty kill is a big cause for concern for Ottawa, as it is operating at a rate of just 74.5 per cent, which ranks 30th in the NHL.
The Senators are a bit shorthanded entering this matchup, as they are still without star defenceman Jake Sanderson. Sanderson has been out since March 7 with an upper-body injury, and his absence is a big one on Ottawa’s back end. He is among the best skaters in the league, and not having him in the lineup as they push for a playoff spot is a tough loss for the Senators.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers reeled off four consecutive wins from March 9 to March 14, but enter this matchup riding a four-game losing streak. They have been out-scored 19-9 in that span, and finding consistent goal-scoring continues to be a struggle.
The Rangers have been among the lowest-scoring teams in the league all season long. New York enters Monday’s matchup against Ottawa scoring 2.79 goals per game, which ranks 29th in the league. Furthermore, they have especially struggled to find the back of the net on home ice. New York’s goals per game average drops from 3.30 (10th in the NHL) on the road to a measly 2.21 at home (32nd in the league).
The Rangers made the move to send Artemi Panarin to the Kings last month, which leaves the offence even more shorthanded. Despite not suiting up for New York in over a month, Panarin still ranks second on the team with 57 points in 52 games this season.
NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Senators vs. Rangers?
In this matchup, the Senators are the more physical team with a more trustworthy offence. Ottawa has scored 16 total goals over its last four games, while New York has potted just nine goals over their last four games. The Rangers are not a team to trust on home ice, as they are just 9-17-7 at Madison Square Garden this season.
In the end, I expect the Senators to pick up a big road win with a 4-2 victory over the Rangers.
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