Rangers Are the Solid Pick as Home Favorite vs the Devils

The Eastern Conference-Leading Rangers Look to Sweep Series From the Devils

About the only thing that the Devils and the Rangers have in common these days is that they both play in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are eyeing the President’s Trophy while the Devils are closer to being eliminated from playoff contention than earning a spot in the postseason. The Rangers are favored at home by the Devils vs Rangers lines against the Devils as the Rangers are approaching 15 years since last being a home underdog against the Devils.

The Rangers can sweep all four regular-season games versus the Devils with a win on Wednesday as New York has outscored New Jersey 13-5 in the first three matchups this season.

The NHL betting lines list the Rangers at -180 to win the game outright with the Devils at +160 on the Moneyline. The odds are set at +133 for the Rangers to cover against the puck line at a 1.5-goal favorite.

When looking at the NHL standings, the Rangers lead the Eastern Conference with 26 wins while the Devils are three games over .500 on the road.

The Rangers are fifth at +900 in the Stanley Cup playoffs odds with the Devils well back at +15000 in the championship odds.

Keep on reading for more on the matchup between the Devils and the Rangers.

Devils Are Fading Fast

New Jersey was in a position to pick up a much-needed win as the Devils took a two-goal lead into the third period in a home game against Pittsburgh. However, the Penguins scored five times in the third period.

The loss was especially hard to take considering that the Devils are fourth in the NHL in goals scored in the third period.

The Devils have been outscored 8-0 in the third period in the last two games to fall into seventh place in the Metropolitan Division standings.

When it comes to the Devils vs Rangers lines, keep in mind that since Feb. 1, the top six point producers for the Devils have a combined plus/minus rating of -43.

The total went over in four of New Jersey’s last five games.

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Panarin Finishing Strong

There are plenty of reasons why the Rangers have the most points in the NHL, the production from first-line forward Artemi Panarin is a good place to start.

Panarin has four multi-point efforts over the last six games with six goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak to give him career-highs of 44 goals and 108 points.

He needs two points to move by Jean Ratelle and move into second place on the Rangers’ single-season scoring list behind only Jaromir Jagr. Keep that in mind when looking at the Devils vs Rangers lines.

He still has a chance to become the fifth player for the Rangers to score 50 goals in a season. Panarin has two goals and three assists in three games against the Devils this season.

Nine of the last 10 games played by the Rangers finished over the total.

Last Meeting

Mika Zibanejad and Erik Gustafsson scored second-period goals and Jonathan Quick stopped 19 of 20 shots in a 3-1 home win as the Rangers improved to 7-2-1 in the last 10 home games against the Devils. It was the third straight win against the Devils after New Jersey won eight of the previous 13 matchups.

It was the sixth game between the division rivals to go under the total in the last eight meetings.

Devils vs Rangers Betting Preview

The Rangers have the most home wins in the NHL among Eastern Conference teams and they could be a solid bet to pick up win No. 27 at home.

Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid is questionable with defenseman Dougie Hamilton and winger Nathan Bastian out for the Devils.

For the Rangers, defenseman Erik Gustafsson is questionable.

A quick look at the NHL scores shows that the Rangers are 11-2 in their last 13 games as the home favorite and have covered in nine of those games with each of the last five games as the favorite at home landing over the total.

The Devils have lost 10 of their last 15 games as a road underdog with New Jersey covering in eight of those matchups. Six of the last eight games as the road underdog went under the total.

The Devils have won just five of its last 15 road games and are 3-7 in their last 10 trips to Madison Square Garden.
The total has gone over in five of New Jersey’s last six games against Eastern Conference teams.

The total has gone over in New York’s last five home games with the total set at 6.5 goals for this matchup.
Each of the last seven games against Eastern Conference teams for the Rangers went over the total.

The Rangers have won six of their last seven games against Metropolitan Division teams.

Devils vs Rangers Games Odds

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