Home»The Rangers Have Dominated The Matchup With Vancouver
The Rangers Have Dominated The Matchup With Vancouver
Kris Abbott | Wed, Mar 13 2019, 1:11pm
The New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are two teams that have seen their share of struggles in recent years, but incidentally, New York has held the edge over the team it defeated in the 1994 Stanley Cup final. The Broadway Blueshirts are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games vs the Canucks and have won five of the last six games as the visitor in this matchup. New York is paying +105 on the moneyline tonight while the Canucks are a -125 home favorite.
Rangers vs Canucks Game Center
The Rangers are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games vs the Canucks and have won five of the last six games at Rogers Arena.
The Vancouver Canucks have the NHL's worst power play since February 1 at just 9.1 percent. Over the same time frame, the Rangers' penalty kill has been 84 percent, up from their 78.3 percent season-long number. Additionally, the Rangers have only been short-handed 50 times in their last 19 games (average of 2.6 per game) – good for No. 9 in the league.
Vancouver has earned just 13 points on five wins and three OT losses since February 1. Only Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa have less to show for their games during that stretch.
New York, on the other hand, has lost in regulation just three times in its last 10 games. During that stretch, Ryan Strome leads the team with five goals and three assists and Mika Zibanejad leads all forwards with 21:55 time on ice per game.
Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev have split time in net since the all-star break. Georgiev has cemented himself as an NHL goalie, with a .923 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average in his last five starts. During the same stretch, Vancouver's Jacob Markstrom has a .921 save percentage and 2.83 goals-against average.
The OVER has cashed in just three of New York's last 10 games and in just two of Vancouver's last 10 games. Keep an eye on the starting goaltender for New York – if it's Lundqvist, I'd lean toward OVER 5.5 goals in this one.
My best Bet for Rangers vs Canucks
Rangers +105
To be honest, there's not a whole lot that I love about either side of this matchup as neither of these teams is a world-beater. However, with New York's recent dominance in this matchup and the Rangers' penchant for never quitting, I'm going to back them in this game. Furthering the argument for the Rangers is that Vancouver is dealing with a litany of injuries to key players. As mentioned above, keep an eye on the Rangers' starting goaltender – if it's Georgiev, I love this bet, but if it's Lundqvist, I'm just OK with it.