The Tampa Bay Lightning (44-26-6) take on the New York Rangers (36-33-7) Monday. Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Lightning vs. Rangers and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: Lightning lead 1-0 after 6-2 win in Tampa Dec. 28
The Lightning have lost 2 straight after a 3-2 shootout loss at the Buffalo Sabres Saturday. C Brayden Point scored his 39th goal of the season. RW Nikita Kucherov notched his 79th assist of the year. He trails Avs C Nathan MacKinnon by 3 points at 112 for the NHL points lead. Tampa sits in the second spot in the Atlantic Division. It trails Toronto by 4 points for the top spot and has a 2-point lead on Florida.
The Rangers were shut out in New Jersey 4-0 Saturday. The Rangers looked like a broken team, and that could be the case now as they’re 6 points out of the final Wild Card spot with 6 games to go. LW Artemi Panarin snapped a 3-game point streak that saw him score 3 goals with 4 assists. He shrugged off a slow start to compile 82 points in 74 games.
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Lightning at Rangers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:10 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Lightning -155 (bet $155 to win $100) | Rangers +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Lightning -1.5 (+165) | Rangers +1.5 (-200)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
Lightning at Rangers projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (36-20-3, 2.16 GAA, .922 SV%, 6 SO) vs. Igor Shesterkin (25-27-5, 2.86 GAA, .904 SV%, 5 SO)
Vassy dropped a tough one 2-1 Thursday at Ottawa, stopping 17 of 19 fired his way. He has been lights-out all season, though. His worst GAA in any month was the first month of the season at 2.54. That’s it. He stopped 42 of 44 the Rangers fired his way in the 6-2 win Dec. 28.
Shesterkin stopped just 12 of 15 in the 4-0 loss to the Devils Saturday. It’s not all his fault because the defense in front of him has been a big pile of “bleh.” Shesterkin has allowed 3+ goals in 3 straight starts and 5 of 6. He got yanked 28 minutes into the first meeting with Tampa after allowing 5 goals on 13 shots.
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Lightning at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Lightning 3, Rangers 1
Moneyline
I love the LIGHTNING (-155) here. I was a little surprised they are priced that highly on the road, but it speaks to how flawed the Rangers are. They’re just 18-17-3 at home this season, and Vasilevskiy is back to his elite level after his recovery from back surgery provided a scare last season.
Puck line/Against the spread
These are the shot totals the Rangers have had the last 4 games: 26, 39, 33, 30. I’m taking ANDREI VASILEVSKIY OVER 24.5 SAVES (-110). The Rangers will be lucky to get 2 past him.
Over/Under
Because I don’t see the Rangers beating Vassy, I’m going UNDER 5.5 (+100) here. The Rangers are 5-5 O/U in their last 10, and the Lightning are 4-5-1. The Under has cashed in 7 of the last 10 meetings between the teams.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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