Madison Square Garden is playing host a cross-continent matchup as the New York Rangers take on the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Sportsnet will broadcast the game, which gets underway at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 26.
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Rangers Odds
Vancouver (+150) is currently the underdog to New York (-170) and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 money on the over, +100 on the under).
The Rangers are 12-11 straight up (SU) and have lost 0.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is a slide from what the team managed during the 2016-17 season (48-34). Through 23 regular season matches, 13 of the teams games have gone over the total, while nine have gone under and just one has pushed. This season, the teams 9-6 SU at home.
New York has converted on 22.8 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s good enough for 10th-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, NY has been penalized 3.9 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five at home. The team has had to defend opposition power plays for 8.7 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 28.1 saves per game with a .918 save percentage, Henrik Lundqvist (11-9-2) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Rangers this season. If they decide to give him the day off, however, head coach Alain Vigneault may roll with Ondrej Pavelec (1-4-4 record, .886 save percentage, 3.69 goals against average).
Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello will both spearhead the attack for the Rangers. Zibanejad (22 points) has tallied 11 goals and 11 assists and has recorded two or more points five times this year. Zuccarello has four goals and 14 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 11 games.
On the other bench, Vancouver is 11-12 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 2.6 units this season. A total of 12 of its outings have gone under the total, while 11 have gone over and none have pushed. As an away team, Vancouver is 8-4 SU so far.
Vancouver has converted on 20.2 percent of its 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 78.3 percent of all penalties.
Vancouver’s players have been whistled for penalties 4.1 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five contests. The teams had to defend opponent power plays just 5.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Jacob Markstrom (26.5 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Vancouver. Markstrom owns a 6-11-2 record, while registering a .911 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average this year.
Brock Boeser (11 goals, 11 assists) will pace the offensive counter for the visiting Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Rangers Betting Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of New York’s last five games.
- The Rangers are 5-5 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canucks are 6-3 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- New York has created 12.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 10.5 takeaways per game (ranked 5th in the NHL).
- Vancouver skaters have created 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.6 takeaways per game (ranked 27th).
