New York Rangers vs. Arizona Coyotes Matchup Preview 1/6/19

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Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad, and the New York Rangers will do battle against Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena for an East-West showdown. Fox Sports Arizona will showcase the action, which gets going at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 6.

New York Rangers at Arizona Coyotes Odds

Arizona comes into the game as the favorite with a -130 moneyline. The line for the Rangers now stands at +110. The Over/Under (O/U), set at an even 6 goals, originally opened at -110 for the over and -110 for the under. That line has shifted since then, and it presently sits at -105 for the over, -115 for the under.

Arizona is 17-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.6 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to what the team did during the 2017-18 season (29-53). Of the team’s 41 games this season, 19 have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. Thus far, the team is 7-14 SU at home.

The Coyotes have converted on just 16.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated first overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 88.3 percent of all penalties.

Boasting a .911 save percentage and 28.4 saves per game, Darcy Kuemper (5-14-3) has been the best goalkeeper for Arizona this season. If head coach Rick Tocchet decides to rest him, however, Arizona could go with Antti Raanta (6-6-6 record, .906 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average).

New York has lost 1.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far and is currently 17-23 straight up (SU). Through 40 regular season matches, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 19 have gone under the total and none have pushed. As a road team, the Rangers are 6-13 SU so far.

The Rangers have converted on 20.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 28th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.9 percent of all opponent power plays.

Henrik Lundqvist (30.1 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Lundqvist owns a 12-18-7 record, and has registered a .911 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average this year.

New York Rangers at Arizona Coyotes Betting Predictions

NHL Tip: SU Winner – Coyotes, O/U – Under

Betting Notes

  • Five of Arizona’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals. The club is 1-4 overall in those games.
  • The Coyotes are 4-14 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-19 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
  • Arizona is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 5-2 in shootouts.
  • The total has gone over in four of New York’s last five outings.
  • New York skaters have averaged 6.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 13.3 giveaways per game (ranked 29th overall).
  • Arizona is ranked 7th this season with 8.1 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher, as it’s averaged 9.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.2 giveaways over its last five.
  • This game features two of the tougher defenses in the league. New York skaters have accounted for the league’s sixth-most hits per game (25.9) and the Coyotes have registered the 12th-most (22.5).