Rangers vs Devils Game 5 Prediction, Odds and Picks Apr 27
The New York Rangers looked ready to make short work of the New Jersey Devils after rolling to a pair of convincing road wins. The Devils answered back with an overtime win in Game 3 and a 3-1 victory in Game 4 to even the series.
The series is back in New Jersey for Game 5 on Thursday.
Both teams finished with only 23 shots on goal in Game 4 as there hasn’t been much room to operate when the teams play 5-on-5, so keep that in mind when it is time to make NHL picks.
When looking at some of the NHL news, other than New Jersey backup goalie Jonathan Bernier out of action, there’s not much in the way of injury concerns for either team.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Rangers’ odds moved from +750 to +1400 after the Game 4 loss in the odds to win the Stanley Cup title. The Devils saw their championship odds go from +2800 to +1600.
Power Play Short-Circuiting
The power play was clicking in the first two games with the New York Rangers converting on four of the 10 chances with the man advantage. Chris Kreider scored all four of those goals.
When the series moved to Madison Square Garden, the power play was 0-for-8. The Rangers failed to beat rookie goalie Akira Schmid on 10 shots on the power play in Games 3 and 4.
There were just five minor penalties called in Game 4 of the series as both teams settled down after a wild Game 2 that featured 136 penalty minutes.
The Rangers would seem to benefit from a penalty-filled game as the seven power plays in Game 2 had plenty to do with the game’s outcome.
Six of the last eight games played by the Rangers finished under the NHL betting lines total.
A Star is Born
The Stanley Cup Playoffs can create surprising heroes. It might be hard to find a more improbable series-changing player than rookie goalie Schmid.
The fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft had goals-against averages of 2.60 and 2.62 in the American Hockey League over the last two seasons.
If not for injuries to Bernier and Mackenzie Blackwood, Schmid might have spent the entire 2022-23 season with the Utica Devils. Instead, he was thrust into the lineup after two rough outings by Vitek Vanecek. He has stopped 57 of the 59 shots he has faced as the Devils tied the series.
From Dougie’s OT winner to Akira stepping in, let’s take a look at the first week of the post-season in the latest 10 Takeaways, presented by @ticketmaster. https://t.co/OQSiq3kmHX
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 25, 2023
Another unlikely standout also emerged when defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler scored what proved to be the winning goal. It was his first goal in 14 postseason games.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of the last six games played by the Devils.
Rangers vs Devils Game Injuries
Rangers vs Devils Head-to-Head
The road team has won six of the last nine games and that includes all four games in this series.
Four of the last seven games have been decided by one goal and it would be five of seven if not for a late empty-net goal by Ondrej Palat in Game 4. Five of the previous eight games finished over the total.
This is the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Devils since 2012 with the Devils winning in six games.
Jack Hughes has three goals and Jesper Bratt three assists for the Devils in the series. Kreider has five goals and is tied with Patrick Kane and defenseman Adam Fox for the team lead with six points for the Rangers.
Rangers vs Devils Game Information
- Game: Rangers (47-22-13 regular season) vs Devils (52-22-8)
- Location: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
- Day/Time: Thursday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Rangers vs Devils Live stream:NHL.TV
Rangers vs Devils Betting Lines
Rangers vs Devils Picks and Prediction
The team scoring first is just 2-2 in the first four games of the series.The team winning more faceoffs is 1-3, with the Devils winning Game 4 while winning 29 of the 49 draws.
The Rangers had an extra day of practice to come up with a way of getting pucks past Schmid, who they hadn’t faced before his strong Game 3 showing.
The Rangers committed 34 giveaways in Games 3 and 4 compared to just nine in the first two games.
When making NHL predictions, keep in mind that the Rangers are 27-16 against the spread on the road while the Devils covered against the NHL betting lines in just 17 of 42 home games.
New Jersey is 38-22-4 when listed as the favorite by the NHL odds while the Rangers are 12-10-5 as the underdog.
The New JerseyDevils are listed at -125 in our Las Vegas hockey odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Devils, you have a chance to win $80. New York is +105, offering a chance to win $105 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the New Jersey Devils a 55.56% chance to win, with the New York Rangers at 48.78%
