New York Rangers vs. Colorado Avalanche odds, predictions and picks

North Jersey

01 January 0001

New York Rangers vs. Colorado Avalanche odds, predictions and picks

The New York Rangers (13-10-4, 5th in Metropolitan) wrap up a two-game road trip as they face off against the 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche (13-10-1, 4th in Central) at Ball Arena on Friday night.

The Rangers are coming off an impressive 5-1 victory over the Pacific division-leading Las Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. It's the first time in nearly three weeks the Rangers have won back-to-back games.

The Avalanche have struggled with injuries to key players recently and it's shown on the ice as they've lost three in a row for the first time since late April of last season when they suffered a four-game losing streak. Colorado has been outscored 14-4 during this three-game skid.

This is the second and final meeting between these two teams. The Avalanche earned a 3-2 shootout victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 25.

Can the Rangers put together their first three-game winning streak since late October? Or will the Avalanche avoid losing their four straight? Here are my picks and predictions for this matchup with odds powered by Tipico Sportsbook.

Puck line: Rangers -1.5 (+155)

When looking at the trends for the Rangers, nothing says to take them to win by two or more goals Friday night. New York is 2-5 in its last seven games after a victory and has struggled against good teams as it's 4-10 in its last 14 matchups against a team with a winning record. The team has also lost four straight meetings in Colorado and the previous four matchups overall in this series. Even with all of these stats leading one way, I think the Rangers win by at least two and here's why:

As mentioned earlier, the Avalanche are dealing with a plethora of injuries as Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Josh Manson are just a few of the team's impactful players who are currently sidelined. On the other side, the Rangers are relatively healthy and hold a massive advantage in just about every line for Friday's matchup.

So, yes, you can look at the trends and see that Colorado is 64-19 in its last 83 home games and are 62-17 in its prior 79 matchups against a team with a losing record, but this is clearly not the same team that hoisted the Stanley Cup in late June.

Currently at +155 (Bet $100 to win $155), I believe this is great value as the Rangers should dominate tonight and win with ease.

Over/Under: Under 5.5 total goals (+100)

With the aforementioned injuries to the Avalanche, it's certainly risky to bet this low total but I believe we see a low-scoring affair. The Rangers have gone below the projected over/under in five of their last seven road games, are 6-0-1 to the under after recording five or more goals in their prior game and have hit the under in eight of their past 11 matchups following a win.

Colorado has great trends to the under as well with eight of its previous 12 games having gone under, including four of its last five games at home and in 10 of its prior 15 games against Eastern Conference opponents.

With two teams that currently rank in the middle of the pack in goals per game, I don't expect many goals to be scored in this matchup. Bet the under of five or fewer total goals to be scored.

Moneyline: Rangers (-150)

This is shaping up to be a rematch of former teammates as Rangers' Igor Shesterkin and Colorado's Alexandar Georgiev are the probable goaltenders tonight. While Georgiev, the former backup to Shesterkin, got out to a hot 10-2-1 start this season, he's struggled as of late as he's surrendered at least four goals in his last four outings and has lost three of those games.

Despite Shesterkin not being leaps and bounds better than Georgiev the past few games, the 26-year-old has been dominant on the road as he's 7-0-1 in eight starts and has not given up more than three goals in any of those appearances.

While Georgiev got the best of the BlueShirts with a 44-save performance in late October, I believe Shesterkin & Co. will easily take care of business against this banged-up Avalanche squad as New York pushes its win streak to three games.