The New York Rangers have now lost four times in their last six home games after winning 25 of their first 37 at MSG. If they don't reverse that trend on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they're going to be in a world of hurt heading into the weekend.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Rangers could very well kick themselves for the opportunity which got away from them on Tuesday night. They had a chance to take a 2-1 series lead and pour pressure on the Penguins, but instead, with young Matthew Murray appearing in his just 14th NHL game, they failed to get any pressure on him whatsoever and lost 3-1.
New York was an underdog anyway at +100 on the moneyline, and we suspect that's about where the betting line will settle for Game 4 with the additional boost from having all of the pressure on its back to win this one.
GOALIE REPORT
Good for Murray for the way he played in Game 3, but Penguins fans are really hoping that this is the time when Marc-Andre Fleury will be back in the fold. Obviously, this combo of Murray and Jeff Zatkoff isn't going to cut it for a run deep into May, though these two combining to go 2-1 in Pittsburgh's first three playoff games has to be considered a huge win.
Fleury of course, has been trying to get through concussion protocol, and he has a good chance of returning Thursday night.
Henrik Lundqvist can't be asked to do as much as he had to do in this series. He's allowed just five goals on 72 shots to reach this point, and he's posted save percentages in the .930s in each of his last two games.
Those are winning numbers for sure, especially with this great offense around him, but the Blueshirts still find themselves down 2-1 in this series.
LIVE BETTING
At some point in this series, the Rangers are going to have to come up with some answers for the Pens’ big boys. Sidney Crosby only has six shots on goal in the three games, but two of the six have reached the back of the net, and he's one of the five men with at least three points in the three hockey games.
It's worth mentioning that Evgeni Malkin looked much better in Game 3 than he did in Game 2, and if he really starts to pick up his game, the rest of the Eastern Conference had better be on notice what the Pens are bringing to the table.
QUICK PICK
Pittsburgh is getting healthier by the day, but it still isn't quite there yet, and we like King Henrik to get back on track in this one to keep this a series.
The Rangers were just so darn good this year at home, and it was a bit of a shock that they were dominated so badly here at MSG on Tuesday night. Don't be surprised if they look significantly better on Thursday and get back in the win column with a dominant offensive effort no matter who's in the pipes for Pittsburgh.
NHL Odds: Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 2
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