The New Jersey Devils (15-20-7) visit the New York Rangers (20-18-4) for a Metropolitan Division rivalry game in Madison Square Garden for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Devils-Rangers odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Devils at Rangers: Projected starting goalies
Mackenzie Blackwood vs. Igor Shesterkin
Blackwood lost his last two starts, including a 4-3 OT loss to the New York Islanders, dropping his record to 14-11-6 with a 2.86 goals against average and .907 save percentage. Oddly enough, Blackwood has performed better on the road this season with a 9-4 record with a 2.73 GAA and .919 SV%.
Rookie goaltender Shesterkin notched a win in his first start, despite giving up a goal on his first shot faced, by stopping 29 shots in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche Jan. 7. The 2014 fourth-round pick has been waiting in the wings to succeed G Henrik Lundqvist — Shesterkin was 15-4-3 with a 1.93 GAA in his second AHL season before being called up.
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Devils 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 2:55 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Rangers 5, Devils 3
Moneyline (ML)
The Rangers’ -167 is the right side of this bet but the moneyline is a stay away for me. On one hand, the Rangers have a way better moneyline balance on the season than the Devils; Rangers are +$802 compared to the Devils’ -$1,305 moneyline performance. On the other hand, the Rangers’ moneyline is terrible value.
PASS on Rangers’ -167 to win outright.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
All the trends point to the Rangers -1.5 (+155) in this game. The home team is 4-1 in the last five meetings and the favorite is also 4-1 in those games. The Devils are 1-6 in the last seven meetings in New York. Seven of the last 10 Devils-Rangers games have been decided by two or more goals, so the puck line isn’t unreasonable.
Over/under (O/U)
Part of the reason why we’re off the Rangers -167 moneyline is why we are betting OVER 6.5 (+125). Getting a plus-betting line has me taking the Over because the Over is 7-1-1 in their last nine meetings. Neither team excels defensively with the Devils allowing the fourth-most goals and the Rangers rank 13th in goals allowed in the NHL. Also, both teams should have plenty of opportunities to light the lamp; the Rangers have allowed the second-most scoring chances against them and the Devils are ranked 12th in SCA.
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