Penguins vs Rangers Odds, Pick & Prediction (Mar 16)

Odds as of March 15th at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Analysis

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been mired in a battle for one of the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs for a long while. As late as February 24th, they were on the outside looking in. However, Sidney Crosby and company have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten contests to currently hold down the top Wild Card spot. They’re tied for the best record in the NHL in that span, scoring 3.90 goals per contest.

The Pens have won both meetings with their Metro Division rivals this season 3-2, and this is the first of a back-to-back at Madison Square Garden. For the campaign, they’re smack dab in the middle of several key categories like goals and goals against and special teams.

Pittsburgh has lost 21 of their last 26 contests as an underdog. New York has defeated four of the last five teams at home who have a losing record on the road (Pens are 15-13-5).

New York Rangers Betting Analysis

The New York Rangers are pretty firmly locked in as the third-place team in the Metro, and something crazy would have to happen for that to change. They hold an eight-point edge on the Pens, and are eight points behind second-place New Jersey. New York won 5-3 versus Washington Tuesday, but they’re a wholly average 5-5-2 in their last twelve outings.

For the season, the Rangers are just 14th in goals/game, but are solid at defending, giving up the ninth fewest goals per outing in the NHL. They’re strong on the PP, ranking eighth, but are 16th on the penalty kill.

New York have won their last five games following a contest in that they scored five or more.

Penguins vs Rangers Recent Results

These two squads are incredibly evenly matched, having split the last six regular-season meetings, and last year’s playoff encounter seeing New York winning in seven games. Both battles this year went under 6.5 goals, with Pittsburgh winning both 3-2. Before that, however, seven straight duels resulted in seven or more goals being scored.

Penguins vs Rangers Pick & Prediction

Pittsburgh as a +120 underdog is an awfully tempting play, particularly because they’ve gotten the better of the Broadway Blueshirts both times this year. Our model has this Penguins vs Rangers game going the home team’s way, however, 3.61-3.34.

Penguins vs Rangers Same-Game Parlay Picks

The over has hit in six of the Rangers’ last seven games at MSG. In a fairly circumstantial coincidence, the over is 12-3-1 in the Penguins’ last 16 Thursday games. The over is also 4-1 in the Rangers last five after scoring five goals or more in their previous game. Selecting the hotter club who has also been better head-to-head this season as an underdog is very appealing.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins Moneyline (+120), Over 6.5 goals (-110)