NHL: New York Rangers vs Florida Panthers Preview
New York On 5 of 6 Roll, Florida 3 of 5
The New York Rangers (24-8-1, 49 points) will have plenty of fan support in the Sunshine State as they head down to New York South to take on the Florida Panthers (20-12-2, 42 points). New York is the top money-making team in the NHL with 7.72 units won in 2023. The Panthers are barely in the black with 0.55 units won. Florida is a -125 home favorite with a total of 6 (over -115). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on MSG2 and Bally Sports Florida.
Rangers vs Panthers 
Date, time:
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Rangers Best In The East
We just finished this week’s power rankings and have the New York Rangers as the best team in the Eastern Conference and third overall. Easy to say when you lead the East with 49 points but we still have the Los Angeles Kings as the top team in the West, so it’s not always about points.
The Rangers are so deep that the league’s fourth-leading scorer, Artemi Panarin (46 points) skates on the second line with Vincent Trocheck centering the 9-year veteran. That second line (37 goals) has two more goals than the Mika Zibanejad first line (35 goals). Their goal differential is +23, a pace that would put them at +57 for the season, and their 49 points would have them at 122 points at the end of the season.
That would shatter the record of 113 points in 2014-15 when they lost in the conference final to the Tampa Bay Lightning. On the road, the blue shirts are 12-5 (+4.65 units). Only the Los Angeles Kings (+7.60 units) and the Philadelphia Flyers (+6.48 units) are better. Since 2021, the Rangers have been 65-48 (+7.01 units) away from MSG, the sixth-best mark in the NHL. Keep an eye on the Rangers’ hockey scores as the season progresses because they might be playing for a cup in the Spring.
Panthers Need Depth Scoring
Most teams’ strength lies down the middle of the ice, but with Florida, that strength begins and ends with Aleksander Barkov who has 35 points this season. Barkov anchors a strong first line that can match points with most teams but that is where it ends on most nights.
Second-line center Sam Bennett has just 10 points and third-liner Anton Lundell has 12. Even with Carter Verhaeghe and his certain 30-goal season, we wonder where the consistent scoring will come during the postseason against the deeper teams in the league.
The Panthers will get their first look at the Rangers who will be a measuring stick for a team that is just four points behind the Boston Bruins in the NHL standings in the Atlantic Division. We have the Panthers 9th in our latest power ratings, third in the East behind the Rangers and Boston Bruins. We conclude our Rangers vs Panthers preview with our official selection.
Rangers Get Plus Money Win
We were a little alarmed that the Rangers were not favorites in this game but perhaps we’ll find out after the morning skate that Jonathan Quick might get the start, but that hasn’t mattered much with Quick being 9-1-1 this season. Whether it’s Quick or Shesterkin, we’re getting a terrific plus-money spot with New York.
We have found that, unlike other sports, NHL numbers can be off and don’t always indicate that bookmakers have an opinion. This is one of the most generous NHL betting lines of the night. Take the Rangers +105. That does it for our Rangers vs. Panthers preview, we wish you nothing but the best with your NHL wagers this weekend.
