NHL: New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Odds Preview
New York Coming off Massive Win Against Carolina, Lightning Clinging to Wild Card Spot
We get to see how the New York Rangers (43-18-4, 90 points) will rebound on the road against a quality opponent after handing the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-0 loss to increase their lead in the Metropolitan Division to six points with 17 games to play.
They’ll face the Tampa Bay Lighting (34-25-6, 74 points), who are eight points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division.
More importantly, Tampa has just a 2-point lead on the New York Islanders (72 points) for the first wild card and a 2-point lead on the Detroit Red Wings (72 points) for a wild card spot in the East but does have a slight advantage with more regulation wins than either of their closest competitors.
Oddsmaker opened this game -110 each way with a total of 6 (over -115).
Puck drop can be seen on Bally Sports Sunshine Network and the Madison Square Garden Network. We start our Rangers vs Lightning odds preview with the road team.
New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning 
Day/Time:
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
Streaming: Bally Sports Sunshine Network / MSG Network
New Test for The Rangers
Handicappers will have to determine if they think the New York Rangers are good enough to find the same defensive intensity they had in a must-win road game against the Carolina Hurricanes when they limited Carolina to just 28 shots.
With the win, we were compelled to move New York into the top five of our power rankings, but we are willing to give the Cane’s a small pass as they try to find chemistry with newly acquired Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov added to the line-up.
What was more impressive about the win was New York did it without captain Jacob Trouba (Injury) and Matt Rempe who was serving his suspension. The Rangers have won four of their last five games after coming off a match-up when they were the underdog, 1-0-1 the game after facing Carolina.
Path to Playoffs Not Difficult for Tampa
With 17 games to play, the Tampa Bay Lightning have the 21st most difficult schedule, a number that will get better after their game with the Rangers. Tampa does have four games left with division opponents, but they will also enjoy match-ups against the Sharks, Ducks, and Blue Jackets.
The Lighting is fresh off a 7-0 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers, a win that pushed them up to the 13th overall spot in our power rankings and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
With the addition of D Matt Dumba and Anthony Duclair, we think Tampa has closed the gap on the Boston Bruins (8th overall, fifth in the East), who were quiet at the deadline.
More good news came Tampa’s way during practice on Tuesday, with Tanner Jeannot and Erik Cernak as full participants. Let’s get to our expert pick to see if this will be a must-watch NHL score, as we anticipate.
Rangers, Lightning to Play Low Scoring Affair
The two entities we have to be impressed with are both teams are coming off impressive shutout wins. Throw away the seven goals the Lightning scored against Philly; both of these clubs are at their peak defensively with world-class goaltenders that can shut down any offense.
The Rangers have allowed just one goal in their last three games (two shutouts) behind Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, while the Lightning are coming off their best effort since a 3-2 OT loss to the Sabres.
Before this recent run of four overs in their last five games, Tampa has been a reliable under wager for most of the season. Our NHL prediction for today is this one goes under a total of six (-105). That does it for our Rangers vs Lightning odds preview, all the best with your wagers this week.
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