Madison Square Garden will play host to an enticing showdown as the New York Rangers welcome the visiting Colorado Avalanche. This East-West matchup will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 7 and it can be watched live on NBC Sports Network.
Colorado Avalanche at New York Rangers Odds
Colorado heads into the matchup as the heavy favorite with a -155 moneyline. The line for New York is standing at +135, and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at 7 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.
Colorado is 25-18 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 43 regular season outings, 22 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the road team this season, the Avs are 14-9 SU.
Colorado has converted on 19.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 23rd in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 77.9 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Colorado has been called for penalties 3.7 times per game during the 2019-20 season, and 3.0 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .911 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (13-12-3) has been the best option in goal for Colorado this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Jared Bednar may turn to Pavel Francouz (12-6-1), who has a .929 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average this year.
The visiting Avalanche have relied on Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar heavily this season. MacKinnon has 64 points on 25 goals and 39 assists, and has recorded multiple points 19 times. Makar has nine goals and 23 assists to his name (and has notched a point in 23 games).
On the other bench, New York is 19-22 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.8 units this season. 21 of its matches have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 10-10 SU at home this year.
New York has converted on 19.4 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York skaters have been penalized 4.7 times per game this season, 4.8 per game over their last five outings total, and 4.4 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties 12.6 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Henrik Lundqvist (29.3 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in the crease for New York. Lundqvist has nine wins, 15 losses, and three OT losses to his name and has recorded a subpar .910 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average this season.
The home team offense will be led by Artemi Panarin (22 goals, 33 assists).
Colorado Avalanche at New York Rangers Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their past five outings.
- The Avalanche are 15-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-9 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- New York has averaged 7.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a slight drop from its season average of 8.2 takeaways per game (ranked 9th in the NHL).
- Colorado has averaged 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.4 takeaways per game (ranked seventh in the NHL).
