The New York Rangers have been almost invincible at Madison Square Garden this season as they welcome the San Jose Sharks for their lone visit of the year Friday.

New York is a -203 favourite to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5 goals.

Sharks vs. Rangers NHL Betting Odds

Friday is the first of two meetings between the teams with the Rangers headed to San Jose on Jan. 13. They didn’t meet last season. New York won both in the 2019-20 season.

San Jose remains without one of the more talented scorers in the league in Evander Kane, but he’ll likely never play for that franchise again because of all his off-the-ice issues. Kane’s 21-game suspension recently ended and the team placed him on waivers. If Kane’s contract wasn’t so big, he would have been claimed by someone but he is now with the AHL’s Barracuda. San Jose is hoping to trade him and is willing to eat some salary. Some team is going to take a shot on a guy who led the Sharks with 22 goals and 27 assists in 56 games last season.

This is the second half of a back-to-back for San Jose and the front end for New York, so that will affect the goaltending choices. The underdog is 5-1 in the past six meetings.

San Jose Sharks

San Jose is 3-0 on its five-game road trip following a 2-1 overtime win at the New York Islanders on Thursday in the Isles’ return from a COVID layoff. Former Ottawa Senator Erik Karlsson’s fifth goal of the season was the winner at 0:39 of overtime. Nick Bonino (third of season) had the other goal. Bonino didn’t have a point in his first 18 games of the season but now has a goal in three of his past five. Timo Meier finished with two assists and has six points during a three-game point streak. How rare is this: San Jose was not called for a single penalty. Backup Adin Hill was in net Thursday, so it should be former Maple Leaf James Reimer for this one. He has been excellent with an 8-4-1 record, 2.06 GAA and .934 SV. The Sharks are 1-9 in their past 10 playing a fourth game in six nights.

New York Rangers

We projected the Rangers to win 3-2 over visiting Philadelphia on Wednesday and it was 4-1, the Blueshirts’ fourth straight victory to improve to 6-1-1 at home. New York is one of three teams in the NHL (Wild and Leafs the others) with three separate four-plus-game winning streaks this year. The Rangers have yet to win five in a row. Their six-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden is their longest since early in the 2017 season. Red-hot Chris Kreider had his team-best 16th goal of the season Wednesday. No other Rangers player has more than five goals but five players have at least 14 points. Igor Shesterkin made 11 saves in the first period, 15 in the second and seven in the third to improve to 12-3-2 with a 2.15 GAA. It appears as if he will start this one and then Alexandar Georgiev on Saturday vs. Chicago. The Rangers are a stellar 11-0-1 this season in games they haven’t allowed a power-play goal.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Sharks vs. Rangers?

• Regular Season

Sharks Team Leaders

SJ

Points	Timo Meier 47
+ / -	Timo Meier 16
Shots	Timo Meier 161
Penalty Mins	Jonah Gadjovich 50
Wins	James Reimer 13
GAA	Zachary Sawchenko 1.56

NYR

Points	Adam Fox 46
+ / -	Ryan Lindgren 18
Shots	Chris Kreider 137
Penalty Mins	Jacob Trouba 63
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 20
GAA	Keith Kinkaid 2

• Regular Season

Rangers Team Leaders

SJ

Points	Timo Meier 47
+ / -	Timo Meier 16
Shots	Timo Meier 161
Penalty Mins	Jonah Gadjovich 50
Wins	James Reimer 13
GAA	Zachary Sawchenko 1.56

NYR

Points	Adam Fox 46
+ / -	Ryan Lindgren 18
Shots	Chris Kreider 137
Penalty Mins	Jacob Trouba 63
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 20
GAA	Keith Kinkaid 2

Injuries

San Jose

Adin Hill (G)

Ques Sat Lower Body - 26 / 01 / 22

Erik Karlsson (D)

Mid March Upper Body - 24 / 01 / 22

Jaycob Megna (D)

Ques Wed Lower Body - 24 / 01 / 22

Rudolfs Balcers (LW)

Ques Sat Illness - 19 / 01 / 22

Alexander Barabanov (LW)

Ques Thurs Conditioning - 12 / 01 / 22

Radim Simek (D)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 08 / 01 / 22

Nick Bonino (C)

Prob Thurs Conditioning - 08 / 01 / 22

Jonah Gadjovich (LW)

Early Feb Upper Body - 08 / 01 / 22

James Reimer (G)

Late Jan Lower Body - 06 / 01 / 22

Erik Karlsson (D)

Prob Tues Upper Body - 05 / 01 / 22

NY Rangers

Patrik Nemeth (D)

Ques Fri Personal - 26 / 01 / 22

Filip Chytil (C)

Ques Fri Lower Body - 22 / 01 / 22

Kaapo Kakko (RW)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 22 / 01 / 22

Alexis Lafreniere (LW)

Ques Wed Conditioning - 13 / 01 / 22

Barclay Goodrow (RW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 11 / 01 / 22

Ryan Reaves (RW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 08 / 01 / 22

Julien Gauthier (RW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 07 / 01 / 22

Dryden Hunt (LW)

Ques Fri Upper Body - 07 / 01 / 22

Igor Shesterkin (G)

Ques Thurs Conditioning - 06 / 01 / 22

Artemi Panarin (LW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 02 / 01 / 22

Injuries

San Jose

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Adin Hill (G)	Ques Sat	Lower Body - 26 / 01 / 22	0-1	1-0	+ -
Hill sat out the last game with a lower-body injury, and it is undecided if he will take the ice on Saturday versus the Panthers.
Erik Karlsson (D)	Mid March	Upper Body - 24 / 01 / 22	0-1	1-0	+ -
Karlsson will spend an extended period on the injured reserve list after having surgery on his left forearm injury.
Jaycob Megna (D)	Ques Wed	Lower Body - 24 / 01 / 22	0-1	1-0	+ -
Megna is bothered by a lower-body injury, and it is undecided if he will battle the Capitals on Wednesday.
Rudolfs Balcers (LW)	Ques Sat	Illness - 19 / 01 / 22	2-1	2-1	+ -
Balcers has wound up in the league's COVID-19 protocol, and it is unclear if he will return to the lineup on Saturday versus the Panthers.
Alexander Barabanov (LW)	Ques Thurs	Conditioning - 12 / 01 / 22	3-4	2-5	+ -
Barabanov has completed the league's COVID-19 protocol, and it is unclear if he will face the Kraken on Thursday.
Radim Simek (D)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 08 / 01 / 22	3-5	2-6	+ -
Simek has sat out the last two contests due to a lower-body injury, and it is unknown if he will lace up against the Rangers on Thursday.
Nick Bonino (C)	Prob Thurs	Conditioning - 08 / 01 / 22	3-5	2-6	+ -
Bonino has cleared the COVID-19 protocol, and he is expected to dress against the Rangers on Thursday.
Jonah Gadjovich (LW)	Early Feb	Upper Body - 08 / 01 / 22	3-5	2-6	+ -
Gadjovich is on the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury, and he is not expected to be available until the early part of February.
James Reimer (G)	Late Jan	Lower Body - 06 / 01 / 22	3-6	3-6	+ -
Reimer has landed on the injured reserve list due to a lower-body ailment, and he is not expected to be available until the latter part of January.
Erik Karlsson (D)	Prob Tues	Upper Body - 05 / 01 / 22	3-7	4-6	+ -
Karlsson has been absent from the last two contests with an upper-body injury, but it is anticipated that he will lace up for Tuesday's matchup with the Red Wings.

NY Rangers

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Patrik Nemeth (D)	Ques Fri	Personal - 26 / 01 / 22	0-1	0-1	+ -
Nemeth was absent from the previous game due to a personal issue, and it is unclear if he will be in Friday's lineup versus the Wild.
Filip Chytil (C)	Ques Fri	Lower Body - 22 / 01 / 22	1-2	2-1	+ -
Chytil has missed the previous two contests with a lower-body issue, and it is undetermined if he will partake in Friday's clash with the Wild.
Kaapo Kakko (RW)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 22 / 01 / 22	1-2	2-1	+ -
Kakko has been shuttled to the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury, and it is unclear when he will return to action.
Alexis Lafreniere (LW)	Ques Wed	Conditioning - 13 / 01 / 22	3-4	3-4	+ -
Lafreniere has completed the league's COVID-19 protocol, and it is unclear if he will lace up against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Barclay Goodrow (RW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 11 / 01 / 22	4-4	3-5	+ -
Goodrow is in the league's COVID-19 protocol, and it is uncertain when he will return to the fold.
Ryan Reaves (RW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 08 / 01 / 22	4-5	3-5-1	+ -
Reaves will be out of the lineup for an extended period as he is enlisted in the league's COVID-19 protocol.
Julien Gauthier (RW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 07 / 01 / 22	5-5	3-6-1	+ -
Gauthier has been placed in the COVID-19 protocol, and a return date has yet to be confirmed.
Dryden Hunt (LW)	Ques Fri	Upper Body - 07 / 01 / 22	5-5	3-6-1	+ -
Hunt has been activated from the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury, and it is unknown if he will return to action Friday versus the Hurricanes.
Igor Shesterkin (G)	Ques Thurs	Conditioning - 06 / 01 / 22	5-5	3-6-1	+ -
Shesterkin has cleared the COVID-19 protocol, and it is undetermined if he will lace up against the Sharks on Thursday.
Artemi Panarin (LW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 02 / 01 / 22	7-5	4-7-1	+ -
Panarin has been shuttled to the COVID-19 protocol, and it is unclear when he will return.