Overview
The New York Rangers visit Joe Louis Arena in Detroit for a good old original 6 match-up with the Red Wings tonight. The Rangers have gotten the best of the Wings over the past few seasons winning 5 of the last 6 meetings but before that they had won just 1 of 13 so looks like things might be evening out as usually tends to happen when one side really dominates a series for a while.
Head to Head Trends
Rangers are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
Under is 6-1-1 in the last 8 meetings.
Detroit Red Wings (-130)
The Detroit Red Wings are 3rd in the Atlantic Division with 81 points 6 points behind the 1st place Montreal Canadians but the Wings do have 2 fewer games played. The Wings have played great almost all season long but when I look at the Wings last 9 games they have only won 4 of those games with two coming in OT and the other two being third period comeback wins so I wonder if they are transitioning into a bit of a cold stretch. The Wings have a solid offense averaging 3.0 goals per game but that’s with a power play that is hitting at 25% so if that cools off they might start to struggle to score goals. On defense they are about middle of the pack allowing 2.6 goals per game.
Detroit Red Wings Trends
Red Wings are 5-11 in their last 16 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Under is 8-0 in Red Wings last 8 vs. Metropolitan.
New York Rangers (+120)
The New York Rangers are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division with 84 points just 1 point behind the New York Islanders plus they have 3 games in hand on the Islanders so when the number of games evens out they will most likely be in 1st place. The Rangers have been one of the best teams in the league over the past couple months winning 28 of their last 37 games so if you take away their slow 7-11 start they would be the best team in the NHL right now.
New York Rangers Trends
Rangers are 28-9 in their last 37 overall.
Rangers are 20-6 in their last 26 games playing on 1 days rest.
Conclusion
I’m going with the New York Rangers over the Red Wings in this one. Both teams have played great this season but the Rangers have been a on a roll for a couple of months now and the Wings look like they might be starting to drop out a bit so I like the Rangers as a small underdog.
Free Pick: New York Rangers +120
