Face-off: 1900 ET, 09/04/2022
Arena: Madison Square Garden
New York Rangers have been on a roll for some time now and can keep the pressure on Metropolitan Division leaders Carolina by taking care of Ottawa.
The Senators were only narrowly beaten in two head-to-head meetings in Canada earlier this season but may find things a bit tougher at Madison Square Garden.
We’re taking 1.91 for the hosts to win by more than one clear goal in our New York Rangers vs Ottawa Senators predictions.
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New York Rangers Odds
The Rangers are just two points behind Carolina after winning 3-1 at New Jersey on Tuesday and then beating Pittsburgh 3-0 here on Thursday.
With the Hurricanes tasting defeat at the New York Islanders last night, this is now a chance to draw level at the top of the table.
Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves to secure his fourth shutout of the season against the Penguins and get back in the good books following a couple of below-par efforts.
“I thought he was excellent,” said coach Gerard Gallant. “People were worried about him. I wasn’t. He played really well, made some real key saves at key times.”
This could be a more open contest, though, as Ottawa are playing with freedom and have scored 18 goals in four outings.
Looking at the NHL odds, we like 2.95 for a home win in regular time and both teams to net at least twice.
Ottawa Senators Odds
Ottawa’s nice run of three straight wins was brought to an end by Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Nashville in Canada.
The Senators led 2-1 at 4:36 in the third period but couldn’t hold on to that advantage, with Juuse Saros starring for the Predators.
“We had breakaways, great looks, but Saros was the difference,” acknowledged head coach DJ Smith.
“We got in there and I thought we overthought it, we got in our own minds, but I thought we had a lot of good games by a lot of guys.”
Tim Stutzle was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury and fellow forwards Drake Batherson and Dylan Gambrell were absent due to illness.
However, Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris continue to impress, while Mathieu Joseph has done well since joining as part of the trade which saw Nick Paul head to Tampa Bay.
Ottawa usually come to play but Rangers have to be rated as a percentage pick after going 13-5-1 since the start of March.
Let’s finish off our NHL predictions by taking 13.0 for a 5-2 home win.
Additional stats
Last result:
NEW YORK RANGERS 3-0 Pittsburgh
OTTAWA 2-3 Nashville
Season head-to-head: Ottawa 1-2 NY Rangers, Ottawa 2-3 NY Rangers
