Madison Square Garden will play host to an East-West clash as the New York Rangers square off against the visiting Minnesota Wild. It’s the last time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. This one will get going at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 23 and it will be showcased live on TVA Sports.
Minnesota Wild vs. New York Rangers Odds
Minnesota (+135) is entering this one as the underdog to Minnesota (-155) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).
Minnesota is 33-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors thus far. 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Wild are 13-16 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Minnesota has converted on 20.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.7 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 4.0 times per game this season, and 3.2 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 28.0 saves per game with a .919 save percentage, Devan Dubnyk (25-17-5) has been the primary option in goal for Minnesota this season. If it decides to give him a rest, however, head coach Bruce Boudreau might turn to Alex Stalock (9-14-2), who has a .916 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average this year.
The visiting Wild have relied heavily on Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund this season. Staal (54 points) is up to 27 goals and 27 assists, and has recorded multiple points 14 times. Granlund has 15 goals and 30 assists to his credit (and has notched at least one point in 29 games).
New York is 27-34 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. 33 of its contests have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and just two have pushed. This year, the team’s 18-14 SU as the home team.
New York has converted on 20.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York skaters have been sent to the penalty box 3.6 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their past five contests. The team’s been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Henrik Lundqvist (28.3 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for New York. Lundqvist has 23 wins, 29 losses, and four OT losses and has registered a .914 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average this year.
Mats Zuccarello (10 goals, 33 assists) will lead the attack for NY.
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in three of New York’s last five outings.
- The Wild are 18-12 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Rangers are 12-16 SU when they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- New York is 3-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 3-2 in shootouts.
- One of the top teams when it comes to disrupting their opponents, New York is ranked 5th with 9.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower, however, as it has created 5.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Minnesota is ranked 27th in the league with 5.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as it has created 5.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.2 takeaways over its last five.
