The Colorado Avalanche (25-14-4) play their second game in two nights in New York by visiting the New York Rangers (19-18-4) Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Avalanche-Rangers sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
The Avalanche took a 1-0 loss against the New York Islanders Monday. The Rangers have been off since a 2-1 road loss against the Vancouver Canucks Saturday.
Avalanche at Rangers: Projected starting goalies
Philipp Grubauer vs. Igor Shesterkin
Grubauer was given the night off Monday, putting him between the pipes Tuesday. He’s coming off back-to-back wins over the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues, and is now 12-9-3 for the year. He has a .911 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average.
Shesterkin, a fourth-round pick of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft out of Russia, will make his NHL debut Tuesday. He has a .932 SV% and 1.93 GAA over 23 games played in the AHL this season, his first in North America.
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Avalanche at Rangers: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:11 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Rangers 3, Avalanche 2
Moneyline (ML)
The Avalanche (-143) are modest road favorites coming off Monday’s loss to the Isles. Their starting goalie is rested for the second half of the back-to-back, but Shesterkin and the RANGERS (+120) are worth a roll of the dice at plus-money. The projected heir to King Henrik Lundqvist has proven his worth in the AHL and will debut against a tired opponent.
The Rangers are on a three-game losing streak, but they’re a respectable 10-8-2 at home for the year. They won each of their last two home games, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 Dec. 22 and the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 Dec. 27.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The more comfortable, but less profitable, play is backing the RANGERS (+1.5, -222) to either lose by just 1 goal or win outright. New York is 27-14 against the spread overall and 13-7 at home. The Avs are 26-17 ATS and 16-7 on the road. The Rangers have lost just six of 20 home games by two or more goals this season.
This is a slightly chalky play, but it’s good insurance against our upset pick on the ML.
Over/Under (O/U)
Back the UNDER 6.5 (-139) despite the fact it’s the side getting the juice. Bank on a strong debut from Shesterkin, who at 24 years old, won’t be overwhelmed after careful development. The Rangers are 8-1-1 against the O/U across their last 10 games, but a big part of that was the 41 goals they’ve given up over that span.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 156-135
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