New York Rangers at Arizona Coyotes Free Preview

betdsiArticles, Hockey, NHL

Two of the least-penalized teams in the National Hockey League, the New York Rangers and the Arizona Coyotes clash at Gila River Arena for an East-West tilt. This one will get underway at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 6 and it’s being shown live on Fox Sports Arizona.

New York Rangers vs. Arizona Coyotes Odds

New York is 21-19 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 40 regular season contests, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Rangers team is 6-9 SU on the road.

New York has converted on 18.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and it has successfully killed off 84.1 percent of its penalties.

For the team as a whole, New York has been penalized just 3.7 times per game this season, and 4.6 per game over its last five road outings. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 7.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.

Boasting a .922 save percentage and 29.2 saves per game, Henrik Lundqvist (18-16-4) has been the best option in goal for New York this season. If head coach Alain Vigneault decides to rest him, however, New York may roll with Ondrej Pavelec (3-6-1 record, .924 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average).

Mats Zuccarello and J.T. Miller will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Rangers. Zuccarello (31 points) has tallied eight goals and 23 assists, and has recorded multiple points six times. Miller has eight goals and 19 assists to his name (and has registered a point in 20 games).

On the other side of the rink, Arizona is 10-32 straight up (SU) and has lost 19.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 23 of its contests have gone under the total, while 18 have gone over and just one has pushed. This season, the teams 5-14 SU as the home team.

Arizona has converted on just 16.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.7 percent of all penalties.

Arizona skaters have been whistled for penalties only 3.2 times per game in total this season, 3.2 per game over their last five games total, and 3.4 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 11.6 minutes per contest over their last five home games.

Antti Raanta has denied 25.6 shots per game as the top option in goal for Arizona. Raanta has six wins, 15 losses, and two overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a mediocre 2.82 goals against average and a .915 save percentage this season.

Clayton Keller (14 goals, 18 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Coyotes.

New York Rangers vs. Arizona Coyotes Free Picks

Predictions: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under

Betting Trends

  • Power plays and penalty kills could be key in the outcome of this one. The Rangers are 9-6 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-11 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Coyotes are 5-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 8-24 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
  • Three of New York’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 1-2 in those games and 2-4 overall in shootouts this season.
  • Arizona has averaged 5.1 takeaways per game (ranked 30th).
  • New York has averaged 8.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 10.1 takeaways per game (ranked fifth in the league).