Senators vs. Rangers Prediction: NHL Betting Odds
The Senators and Rangers are just playing out the string – Ottawa will almost surely finish with the fewest points in the NHL and the best chance of winning the draft lottery. The Sens are actually .500 at home but an ugly 10-27-2 on the road. The Rangers, rebuilding like Ottawa, will miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2002-03 & 2003-04. Both clubs were sellers ahead of this season’s trade deadline.
Senators vs Rangers Betting Analysis
Wednesday’s winner claims the season series because the teams split a home-and-home on Nov. 26 & 29. New York was a 4-2 winner at Madison Square Garden behind 29 saves from Henrik Lundqvist. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and assist. Mark Stone (since traded) scored twice and Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots for Ottawa.
In Ottawa, the Senators prevailed 3-0 behind 27 saves from Anderson (his first of two shutouts this season), and a goal and assist from Matt Duchene (since traded). Lundqvist stopped 31 shots.
The home team has won 14 of the past 16 in the series.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa completed a four-game homestand at 2-2 with Monday’s 5-2 loss to league-best Tampa Bay, which became only the third team in league history with 60 victories in a season. The Senators got goals from Brady Tkachuk (21st of season) and Max Veronneau (second). Anderson stopped 21 of 26 shots to see a personal three-game winning streak end in his 400th career game with Ottawa. He’s 17-26-4 with a 3.46 goals-against-average and a .904 save percentage.
Wednesday could be the Senators debut of goaltender Joey Daccord, who recently completed a terrific junior season at Arizona State and signed a two-year contract with Ottawa on Monday. The Sens are 2-5 in their past seven on Wednesday.
New York Rangers
New York had a two-game winning streak snapped in a 4-2 loss in New Jersey on Monday as the Devils avoided a season sweep. Lundqvist allowed three goals on 40 shots, surrendering the game-winner with just under five minutes to go to lose his fifth straight game. He’s now 18-22-10 with a 3.05 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage.
Brett Howden had his sixth goal of the year for the Rangers, while Filip Chytil had his 11th. Winger Pavel Buchnevich, who has a career-high seven-game point scoring streak, did not play after being hurt Sunday. He’s in the concussion protocol. New York is 4-14 in its past 18 games overall.
