The New York Rangers will look to stay hot as they host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night in a game that can be seen on NBCSN. The Rangers have won their last two games to take over first place in the Metropolitan Division. They will be facing a Boston team that won three of their first five games but comes into this contest in a tough spot as they had to play on Tuesday night against Minnesota. The Rangers won two of the three meetings against the Bruins last season including both games at MSG.
This war on the ice will go down Wednesday, October 26, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised live on NBCSN.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Rangers will be solid home favorites in this game with the total listed at 5. The Rangers have the definite edge in terms of scheduling as they haven’t played since Sunday when they beat Arizona 3-2 while the Bruins had to play at home on Tuesday night against Minnesota.
It is always worth a serious look when you have a rested team playing at home against a team playing with no rest. It also helps that the Rangers have been a solid home team in recent seasons. New York is already 3-1 at MSG this season.
Special Teams
The Bruins have struggled on the power play this season ranking 26th in the league through their first five games. Boston has done well to score 3 goals per game with very little help from the power play. The good news for Boston is their penalty killing as it was 10th in the league through five games at 90%.
The Rangers have almost the opposite numbers of the Bruins as they are 9th in the league on the power play at 21.1% while they are 15th in the league in penalty killing. That last number should improve as defenseman Dan Girardi is back in the lineup. He made his return on Sunday night and scored the game winning goal. He played just over 19 minutes and had two shots on goal, three hits and two blocked shots. It was his first game back since his hip flexor injury.
“(Girardi) is a big part of our d-core and competes hard every night,” alternate captain Marc Staal said, “When he’s playing solid, heavy and physical, it makes our team that much stronger. He came to camp with the right attitude and ready to work. There’s a lot of guys in this room that want to improve on last year. He’s doing everything to get back on track and he’s done that so far.”
The fans oftentimes give Girardi a hard time but his teammates know how important he is. “I’m so happy for him,” goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “He’s been working really hard, getting ready for camp, getting ready for the season. Then right away he has to sit out for a few games, that’s never easy, but I just love the way he competes out there. When he gets the game-winner like that, it’s all smiles here.”
Key Stat
These teams met three times last season with New York taking two of the three with two games going over. The Rangers won both games at home by scores of 5-2 and 2-1. The Rangers have won the last three at home in this series and four of the last six.
Free NHL Picks
The Rangers are the better team, they have the home ice advantage and I really like the situation as they are well rested while the Bruins had to play on Tuesday night. I will lay the price and take the Rangers in this one.
NHL Odds: Rangers 4, Bruins 2
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
