The New York Rangers will look to solidify their place atop the Metropolitan Division this Thursday when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the desert. You really could see this kind of season coming for the New York Rangers, as they were awesome last year when they had all of their pieces together.
They have now managed to stay pretty healthy and look to be in contention for the Stanley Cup. Thursday’s opponents are no stranger to deep runs in the Stanley Cup Finals, and they once again look like they could be contenders if they can get their goaltending situation together. Either way, this one should be a high-level game with a great atmosphere between two of the better teams in the NHL.
New York Rangers Betting Preview:
The Rangers are likely to still be without their main setup man Artemi Panarin, but it has been good to see that the rest of the roster has been able to pick up the slack in the meantime. The Rangers have won their last three games, with two of those wins coming against a tough Tampa Bay Lightning team which now has them positioned atop the Metropolitan. At least for me, their last game was not as impressive as it looked, beating the Oilers 4-1 as they were outplayed for large parts of that game. Alexandar Georgiev really bailed them out of that one with a stellar performance, and Chris Kreider continued on with his hot start bagging his 20th goal of the season.
Another reason for the Rangers to be excited going into the latter part of the year is the play of their highly touted sophomore Alexis Lafreniere, who now has 3 goals and 11 assists in just 8 games. He did not look like the second coming of Crosby or Ovechkin during his rookie campaign and had a lot of people looking at him like he was going to be a bust, but the way he has looked so far this season is calming a lot of those worries.
Georgiev is once again the projected starter for this one, and although he does not have the insane stats that Igor Shesterkin does, it is hard to dispute how well he has been playing as of late, and I am sure he will be up for the challenge that the Golden Knights represent.
Vegas Golden Knights Betting Preview:
It has been tough sledding for the Golden Knights in their last couple of games, dropping both of those games by 1 goal margins. The Predators’ loss last time out was particularly tough because Vegas was the better team for most of that game, outshooting the Predators 43-26. Juuse Saros was the difference in that one, and once again, Vegas does not get an easy matchup in terms of the opposing netminder, with Georgiev likely between the pipes on the other end of the ice.
The Golden Knights have been having some issues with their goalies, as Laurent Brossoit is out for this one, and Robin Lehner has the Q tag. There are also a bunch of other injuries to keep an eye out for this team, with Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Nicolas Hague all likely to miss this one. Even with all those players out, the Golden Knights are so deep that they should still be able to compete at a high level with one of the NHL’s elite. Look for guys like Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson to step up here as they have done all year long, with Karlsson looking especially good as of late.
The goalie situation is totally up in the air, so that will make a huge difference in whether or not a bet is wise in this spot, as Logan Thompson is the expected netminder for this one. If he goes, it will be very tough to go against the Rangers here with his limited experience at the NHL level.
New York Rangers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Betting Prediction:
The Rangers will be the clear side here if Thompson is in net, but the value will likely be with the over, as the Golden Knights should be able to put up their fair share of goals, and Thompson will be hard-pressed to keep the Rangers under 3 goals here. Once again, though, this game will come down to the news, and if Lehner can go, it will drastically change the odds and the game itself.
BetUSASports Free Pick:
New York Rangers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Betting Verdict: Over the total
New York Rangers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Final Score Prediction: 6-3 New York Rangers
