Rangers vs. Red Wings prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bet
The transition to interim life without Adam Fox or Filip Chytil looked smooth until the Rangers blew a 3-0 lead and lost 5-4 to the Wild in a shootout Saturday.
They struggled gravely with clearing the puck from their own end and welcomed Minnesota to pepper Jonathan Quick with 40 shots to their 18.
That’s not to say their absences were the sole reason behind the sloppy result; the Rangers coughed up the puck too easily and played undisciplined hockey against an inferior lineup.
They will gain some stability back to their bottom-six with Barclay Goodrow’s return Tuesday against a Red Wings club that’s exceeded expectations.
Detroit is a top-five scoring team (3.75) and generates a success rate of 28 percent on the power play (sixth in the NHL).
After conquering the Bruins 5-4, the Red Wings have four double-digit point scorers through 12 games entering the Garden.
Dylan Larkin is spearheading the campaign as he has appeared on the score sheet in nine of those games — five of them multi-point outings.
His 17 points to Artemi Panarin’s 18 will pit two top-five point scorers against one another in this game.
Half of Panarin’s production has come on the Rangers’ rolling power play, which must find a way to sustain itself without its quarterback in Fox.
The Rangers are converting the second-highest efficiency on the power play (31.6 percent).
With the Red Wings’ high goal output has come eight hits on the Over.
Ville Husso has saved less than 90 percent of the shots he’s faced along with a goals against average of 3.37.
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While the Rangers live on the opposite side of the spectrum as a top-six club in both of those categories, they allow 2.27 high-danger scoring chances per game.
But both teams are giddy on the trigger with well above-average shooting percentages.
As Peter Laviolette makes the necessary lineup adaptations, the Rangers are capable of compensating offensively with their healthy personnel.
Detroit brings in a steady challenge which opens the door for another busy night in the stat box.
THE PLAY: Rangers-Red Wings Over 6.5 (-110, Caesars Sportsbook)
