Ryan Strome, Artemi Panarin, and the New York Rangers will face off against Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena for a cross-continent showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 4, and you can view it live on CBC Sports.
New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks Odds
The Canucks (-165) are being labeled as the heavy favorites over the Rangers (+145). The Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals and originally opened at -115 for the over and -105 for the under. That line has since moved however, and it now sits at -110 for the over, -110 for the under.
Earning 3.0 units for moneyline bettors, Vancouver is 22-19 straight up (SU) overall this year. That win percentage, ranked first in the Pacific Division so far this season, is a huge turnaround from how the team performed during the 2018-19 season (35-47). Through 41 regular season outings, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team is 13-8 SU at home this season.
The Canucks have converted on 25.8 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.7 percent of all penalties.
Sporting a .917 save percentage and 29.9 saves per game, Jacob Markstrom (14-14-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for Vancouver this year. If head coach Travis Green decides to give him the night off, however, the team could go with Thatcher Demko (8-5-5 record, .907 save percentage, 2.92 goals against average).
New York has netted moneyline bettors 4.8 units this year and is currently 19-21 straight up (SU). A total of 20 of its outings have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the road team this season, the Rangers are 9-11 SU.
The Rangers have converted on 19.7 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Henrik Lundqvist (29.3 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for New York. Lundqvist has nine wins, 15 losses, and three OT losses to his credit, while registering a .910 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average this year.
New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Canucks, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The Canucks are 7-4 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Rangers are 9-11 SU in games where they serve more minutes than the opposition.
- New York is 0-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vancouver is 3-1 in shootouts.
- The over has hit in four of New York’s last five games.
- New York has averaged 11.0 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 13.5 giveaways per game (ranked 30th overall).
- Vancouver is ranked 6th this season with 8.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as it’s averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 giveaways over its last five.
