Rangers vs Penguins Predictions, Odds & Player Props (Saturday, Mar. 16)
Odds as of March 15, 2024, at DraftKings Sportsbook. Claim the DraftKings Sportsbook promo to bet on Rangers vs Penguins. With NC Sports betting now live, bettors in the Tar Heel State can register at DraftKings North Carolina.
Rangers Seeking Bounce-Back
The New York Rangers are looking to get back into the win column following a surprising 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov combined for 11 points to torch Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers’ defense.
Prior to the loss at Amalie Arena, the Rangers had strung together three consecutive victories. Shesterkin has bolstered his Vezina odds recently, pitching a shutout in two of his past three starts. The Russian netminder, who sports a .912 save percentage, is Saturday’s projected starting NHL goalie.
— Nathan "Grav" (@NathanGraviteh) March 15, 2024
The Rangers’ offense is led by Artemi Panarin, who has scored 36 goals and dished out 52 assists in 66 games. Vincent Trochek, Alexis Lafreneier, and Mika Zibanejad have also scored 20 goals this season, while Adam Fox (11G, 42A) provides offense from the blueline.
The Rangers have been an excellent defensive team this season, allowing just 29.39 shots per game against and 2.67 GAA. Part of this success can be attributed to their penalty kill, which is operating at an 83.4% clip, good for 5th in the league.
In terms of injuries, Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler are both out for the season, while Jacob Trouba has an upper-body injury and is not likely to return until the latter part of March. Rookie defenseman Matt Rempe, meanwhile, is serving a four-game suspension for elbowing and will be eligible to return Tuesday against the Jets.
Penguins in Desperation Mode
The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to keep their playoff dreams alive as they host the New York Rangers on Saturday Afternoon Hockey. The NHL Playoff Bracket shows that Sidney Crosby’s team is five points back of the New York Islanders for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins are coming off a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks in which Pierre-Olivier Joseph, John Ludvig and Drew O’Connor all had multi-point efforts. Prior to the victory, the Penguins were on a four-game losing streak. They have just two wins in their past nine games.
Pittsburgh has been a decent defensive team this season, allowing 2.88 goals per contest. They have struggled to find the back of the net, however, averaging just 2.85 goals per game (25th). Sidney Crosby (32G, 33A) is the only Penguin with more than 50 points on the season.
Saturday’s projected starting NHL goalie is Tristan Jarry. This season, Jarry is 19-21-5 with a .909 save percentage and 2.70 GAA. He is quite familiar with the Rangers, having started 17 games against them in his career. In those contests, he is 8-8-0 with a .905 save percentage.
New York vs Pittsburgh Player Props
NHL player props to bet for Saturday once they are available at online sportsbooks.
Rangers vs Penguins Prediction
The Rangers have had their way with the Penguins lately, winning the past three meetings. However, the first meeting this season was just a 1-0 victory for New York at home, with the Rangers outshooting the Pens by a slim 36-32 margin.
There’s no doubt New York is the better team here, but over the past month, the Pens have been the superior team at even strength per the advanced metrics (50.30 CF% vs. 45.59 CF%). Here are some betting trends to keep in mind before making your Rangers vs Pens prediction:
- The total has gone UNDER in five straight meetings between the Pens and Rangers.
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of NY Rangers’ last 11 games.
- Rangers are 14-3 in their last 17 when their opponent scores 5 goals or more in their previous game.
We’re betting on another low-scoring game in this rivalry, especially with Shesterkin poised for a bounce-back performance. He’s 7-4-1 against the Pens in his career with a .919 save percentage, and we aren’t confident this struggling Pittsburgh offense will break through on Saturday.
