NHL Bet of the Week: Playoff Edition

The best playoffs in all of sports are finally here, and this article will explain why the New York Rangers +110 is the NHL Bet of the Week.

Rangers Star Power

The New York Rangers have one of the best top-six forward groups in the NHL, with perennial all-stars, Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane, Mika Zibenjadi, and Vladimir Tarasenko. With all of this offensive power, their style of play is built for overs in games like this.

The Rangers also have had tremendous chemistry as of late, as it took them a while to find the right pairing with the new additions of Kane and Tarasenko. The Rangers also have one of the best offensive defensemen in Adam Fox, who dominated the game when he was on the ice.

The Rangers also have had one of the best power plays in the league this year and that could prove to be valuable if they see time on the power play in this week’s game. However, it is worth noting that officials usually let teams play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Devils Goaltending

The NHL New Jersey Devils have been an average team in net all season long, and they have finally named Vitek Vanecek as the Starting Goalie for the first game in this series. However, The Devils defense in front of them has now been elite, to say the least, as Vanecek has an average save percentage of .911.

With all three potential NHL goalies for the Devils having a save percentage just around .900, that doesn’t spell when for them when they are matchup against the star power of the New York Rangers mentioned above.

Overall, the Devils are going to have to outscore the New York Rangers to win this game, and this series; however, with the offensive NHL firepower mentioned above, I don’t see them doing that.

Previous Matchups

Three of the four previous matchups between the Devils and Rangers have gone over 6.5 goals, with game one being won by the Devils 5-3. Game two was won by the Rangers 4 to 3 in overtime, game three being won by the Devils 4 to 3 in overtime, and game four being won by the Devils 2-1.

Three of these games occurred before the Rangers acquired Kane and Tarasenko both of who are elite NHL scoring wingers, and the Devils also added Timo Meier to their forward group, who is also an elite scoring forward.

With all of the past history pointing to the New Jersey Devils, there is some concern. However, the Devils are young, and the Rangers are coming off of an NHL Eastern Conference Finals appearance. They also added two former cup winners, so they definitely have more experience.

Overall, do yourself a favor and bet the New York Rangers +110 in this matchup to make some money. There is simply too much offensive firepower from the Rangers, and not enough goaltending by the Devils.