Previewing Wednesday’s Washington Capitals at New York Rangers sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and tips.
The Washington Capitals (16-3-4) visit the New York Rangers (8-8-2) Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Capitals-Rangers odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Capitals at Rangers: Projected starting goalies
Braden Holtby vs. Henrik Lundqvist
Holtby leads the league with 11 wins through 16 starts, while being hit with just one regulation loss and three overtime/shootout defeats. He has a .906 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average with both rates improving following a shaky start.
King Henrik is 4-4-1 through 10 starts and a relief appearance. The 37-year-old has a .905 SV% and 3.54 GAA. Both numbers are the worst of his career with his GAA more than a full goal above his career average.
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Capitals 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 9:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Capitals 4, Rangers 1
The CAPITALS (-189) about as safe as a choice as we see in hockey. An outright win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns an adequate profit of $5.30 off of a $10 bet.
Washington leads the Metropolitan Division and is 10-1-1 away from home for the season. The Rangers are 5-4-2 at MSG, but they’re seventh in the division. The Capitals enter having won two straight games, most recently beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 Monday. The Rangers have lost back-to-back games, but they’ve been off since losing 4-3 to the Florida Panthers Saturday.
The wiser play is to put the same $10 bet toward the CAPITALS on the spread (-1.5, +135) with the same investment fetching a profit of $13.50. Washington is 15-8 on the puck line and an impressive 10-2 as the visitor. New York is 11-7 overall and 7-4 at home, but Lundqvist is severely outmatched by Holtby at this stage of his career.
The Rangers are tied for last in the NHL while being outshot by 6.8 shots on goal per game. The Capitals are just above neutral at plus-0.4 SOG/game, but they’re plus-0.78 goals per game.
New to sports betting? The Capitals will need to win by two or more goals for this bet to cash.
Take the UNDER 6.5 (-120). The Capitals are 7-3 against the Over/Under across their last 10 games while the Rangers are 5-5 over the same stretch. New York shouldn’t be counted on for more than a goal or two against Holtby, while a four-goal output from Washington would leave this one short of the projected total.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 60-61
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