Facing each other for the final time this season, the Nashville Predators and the New York Rangers meet at Madison Square Garden. This East-West matchup gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, December 16, and it’s being televised live on MSG Network.
Nashville Predators at New York Rangers Odds
Nashville (-140) is currently favored over New York (+120), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
The Rangers are 16-16 straight-up (SU) and have earned moneyline bettors 5.5 units this year. That early-season winning percentage is a welcome improvement over the 32-50 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. Out of its 32 regular season contests, 20 of them have gone under the total, while 12 have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 8-8 SU at home this year.
New York has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.3 percent of all penalties.
As a team, NY has been penalized 4.6 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five matchups at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.2 minutes per game over its last five matchups, overall.
With a .912 save percentage and 31.1 saves per game, Henrik Lundqvist (7-12-3) has been the top goalkeeper for the Rangers this year. If head coach David Quinn chooses to rest him, however, the team might turn to Alexandar Georgiev (9-6-6 record, .923 save percentage, 2.69 goals against average).
Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome will both be offensive focal points for the Rangers. Panarin (42 points) has put up 19 goals and 23 assists and has recorded multiple points 14 times this year. Strome has six goals and 22 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 19 games.
On the visiting bench, Nashville is 14-17 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 18 of its contests have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under the total and none have pushed. Nashville’s 5-7 SU as an away team this season.
Nashville has converted on just 14.8 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places it in the bottom-five overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 23rd overall and it’s successfully defended 77.8 percent of all penalties.
Nashville’s players have been penalized 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays a whopping 14.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Pekka Rinne (23.3 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville. Rinne owns a 10-8-3 record, and has registered a .893 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average this year.
Roman Josi (seven goals, 19 assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Predators.
Nashville Predators vs. New York Rangers Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Nashville is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 0-2 in shootouts.
- For both of these clubs, the game went under the total in three of their last five matchups.
- The Predators have averaged the league’s second-most shots on goal (34.2) and New York has attempted the 26th-most (just 29.0).
- Six of Nashville’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 4-2 in those games.
- Nashville skaters notched 18.7 hits per game last season, while the Broadway Blueshirts accounted for 26.0 hits per matchup.
