The New York Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, April 17 at Madison Square Garden. The puck drops at 7:00 PM ET. This is the second meeting between the teams in April, with Tampa Bay winning the last matchup 5-1 on April 7.
Tampa Bay has already clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round. The Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention and are wrapping up a season that included a long stretch of struggles and missed expectations.
Rangers Preview – Playing Out the String
The Rangers are 38-36-7 and sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division. They are one of just four teams in league history to miss the playoffs after winning the Presidents’ Trophy the previous season. Their current form includes just seven wins in their last 20 games.
Vincent Trocheck leads the team with a strong two-way effort and had a short-handed goal in the recent win at Florida. Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad have all played top minutes throughout the year but haven’t found enough consistency. Defenseman Adam Fox continues to anchor the blue line and mentor younger players like Matthew Robertson.
Injuries have played a part in New York’s struggles. Blake Schneider and Arthur Kaliyev are both out for the season. Igor Shesterkin is expected to start in net, where he’s posted solid numbers, but he hasn’t received enough support on the scoreboard in many games.
Lightning Preview – Playoff Tune-Up Continues
Tampa Bay is 47-26-8 and second in the Atlantic. They’ve scored at least five goals in three straight wins, including against Florida and Buffalo. They’ve dominated the Rangers this season, winning all three matchups by a combined score of 16-4.
Nikita Kucherov is likely to finish as the NHL’s top scorer with 121 points. Brayden Point has his third straight 40-goal season and is one of the top even-strength scorers in the league. Jake Guentzel, a trade deadline pickup, has added speed and scoring to the second line.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will likely get the start in net. He is 38-20-5 this season with a .921 save percentage. Tampa Bay has gone 29-8-4 at home and 18-18-4 on the road. Even with some injuries, including to Luke Glendening and Oliver Bjorkstrand, their depth is showing up at the right time.
Betting Prediction
Tampa Bay is listed as a small road underdog at +121, while the Rangers are -127 favorites. The total is set at 6.0 goals. The Lightning are 3-0 against the Rangers this season, with each win coming by at least four goals.
With the Rangers focused on youth and Tampa Bay tuning up for the playoffs, the Lightning should control this one. Tampa Bay’s top line is hot and should put pressure on the Rangers early. The pick is Tampa Bay to win and cover the puck line.
Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning +1.5
We like the Lightning to hang in for this game. The final regular season game of the season is tight, but take the visitors.
