Overview
The New York Rangers head into the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa tonight where they take on the Senators. This has been a fairly even series over the past few seasons but the Rangers have had the upper hand of late winning 3 of the last 4 meetings overall including the last 2 played in Ottawa.
Head to Head Trends
Road team is 20-8 in the last 28 meetings.
Rangers are 10-4 in the last 14 meetings in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators (-120)
The Ottawa Senators are 4th in the Atlantic Division with 85 points just 1 point ahead of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East. The Ottawa Senators have been on an insane run over the past month winning 15 of their last 17 games mostly due to rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond who is 14-1 since being called up. This has obviously been a great run for Hammond and the Senators but I wonder if it will last for much longer. Hammond allowed just 16 goals total in his first 12 games but he has allowed 9 goals over his last 3 games and even though he still won all 3 games that had more to do with the Senators offense then anything.
Ottawa Senators Trends
Senators are 15-2 in their last 17 overall.
Senators are 4-12 in their last 16 vs. Metropolitan.
New York Rangers (+100)
The New York Rangers are 1st in the Metropolitan Division with 99 points just 1 points behind the Montreal Canadians for 1st place overall in the entire NHL but the Rangers do have a couple extra games in hand. After starting out the season just 7-11 the Rangers have also been on fire for basically the rest of the season going 39-15. The Rangers play good on both sides of the puck averaging 3.0 goals per game on offense and allowing just 2.3 goals per game on defense so I would they are probably one of the most balanced teams in the league along with the St Louis Blues.
New York Rangers Trends
Rangers are 20-6 in their last 26 road games.
Rangers are 6-1 in their last 7 vs. Atlantic.
Conclusion
I like the New York Rangers over the Senators in this one. This has been a great run for the Sen’s but it’s also been kind of a lucky one in the sense that two of their main goalies got injured and then some rookie goalie comes out of no near and just plays off the charts good. Well I have my doubts if this will last for much longer, Hammond is due for a few losses and so are the Senators as a team so I think the Rangers will beat them tonight.
Free Pick: New York Rangers +100
