One of the NHL's last teams to play out of the All-Star break, the New York Rangers finally hit the ice again when they host the Boston Bruins tonight.
New York is one of three teams that have yet to see live action since the league resumed play last Monday, getting a full two weeks off between games. Despite the long layoff, the Rangers are NHL betting home favorites against a Bruins team missing two of their star players.
Our Bruins vs. Rangers free NHL picks and predictions expect New York to need some time to shake off the rust — but will that cost the Blueshirts the game?
Bruins vs Rangers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Rangers opened as -135 favorites tonight, with the Bruins at +120, and the line has shifted to see New York sit between -145 and -155. The total opened at 5.5 and remains at that number, shaded to the Under.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Bruins vs Rangers predictions
- Prediction: Rangers 3ML (+110)
- Prediction: Under 5.5 (-115)
- Best bet: First 10 minutes Under 0.5 goals (+120)
Predictions made on 2/15/2022 at 11:40 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Bruins vs Rangers game info
• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
• Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
• Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: MSG, NESN
Bruins vs Rangers betting preview
Key injuries
Bruins: Patrice Bergeron C (Out), Brad Marchand LW (Out).
Rangers: Kaapo Kakko RW (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Bruins vs Rangers head-to-head record (Since 2020)
Bruins: 5-4-0, 24 goals for.
Rangers: 4-4-1, 22 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 4-1 in the last five matchups in New York. Find more NHL betting trends for Bruins vs. Rangers.
Bruins vs Rangers picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Moneyline analysis
As mentioned in our intro, the Rangers have not played an NHL game since February 1, when they topped the Panthers 5-2 to head into the All-Star break on a high note. Considering 24 other NHL teams got back into action within three days post-ASB, including Boston playing three games already, it's a weird spot for New York to have such a long layoff — but it worked to the Blueshirts' advantage.
Heading into the break, New York was without superstar defenseman Adam Fox, plus sturdy defensive blueliner Patrik Nemeth and middle-six forward Filip Chytil, all of whom are ready to roll for tonight's game.
The extra action for Boston, however, has not been as beneficial as the team lost Patrice Bergeron to a concussion, Brad Marchand got himself suspended six games for doing Brad Marchand things, and goalie Tuukka Rask retired, ending a brief (failed) comeback attempt after missing the first half of the season following hip surgery.
The Bruins are 1-2 since coming out of the ASB, losing 4-2 to Pittsburgh (in which Bergeron got hurt and Marchand lost his cool) and then getting destroyed 6-0 by Carolina before squeaking out a 2-0 win over Ottawa in a game where the Sens generated more offensive chances (Boston's Corsi For Percentage was just 45%) and goalie Jeremy Swayman stole the game with 3.2 goals saved above expected (per Moneypuck).
All three of Boston's recent games were at TD Garden but tonight it has to travel on the road to face a Rangers team that is sixth in the NHL with a .762 points percentage at home, including winning seven of their last eight.
New York has been plagued all season by horrid 5-on-5 possession metrics (dead last in CF% for the season and 27th over the last month, per Natural Stat Trick), but what's powered the team has been a lethal power play that has scored in six of the team's last seven games (9 of 25 in that stretch) and Vezina Trophy favorite Igor Shesterkin, who has a 1.88 GAA, .947 SV%, and 12.32 goals saved above average over his last nine appearances.
The standard 5-on-5 disadvantage the Rangers have is somewhat neutralized by facing a Boston team that relies heavily on its top line missing 2/3 of that line.
The Bruins' expected first line tonight is Taylor Hall, Erik Haula, and David Pastrnak, while the second line will likely be Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle, and Craig Smith — a far cry from New York's top six of Chris Kreider/Mika Zibanejad/Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin/Ryan Strome/Barclay Goodrow.
Add in that Boston's penalty kill has been middle of the pack over the last month (against the Rangers' lethal PP that now has Fox back as the QB) and the edge New York has in nets (despite coming off a shutout, that was Swayman's first decent game in his last four outings), and we're going to back the Rangers to prevail over a shorthanded Bruins side.
We can live with paying -145 on the Rangers moneyline, but if we switch that to New York winning in regulation... we can get the Blueshirts at plus money.
Prediction: Rangers 3-way moneyline (+110)
Over/Under analysis
It's no shock that Boston has struggled to score without Marchand and Bergeron, with just four total goals through three post-ASB games, but the team's offensive issues actually date further back.
The B's has topped three goals just once in their last six games, with 10 total goals in that span (27th in NHL) and just 15.37 expected goals — and a 2.56 expected goals per 60 minutes ranking 25th in the league.
Again playing tonight without two of their three leading scorers, Boston will struggle to get many pucks past Shesterkin, who has had a sub-.921 SV% just twice in 2022 and has surrendered more than three goals just once in his last 20 outings.
That's going to put the honus on the Rangers to carry the weight of getting this game Over the total, but looking at the teams with the longest layoffs during the ASB — San Jose, Tampa Bay, Colorado, St. Louis, and Buffalo — four of those teams failed to top three goals, with the Blues getting a fourth in a garbage time blowout and San Jose getting shut out.
That's giving us some pause about expecting the Blueshirts to come out flying, and we're leaning towards a more defensive-minded game tonight. The Under has cashed in six of New York's last seven games as home chalk and eight of the last 11 head-to-head meetings — and that's where we're going to side tonight.
Prediction: Under 5.5 (-115)
Best bet
Building off the above section, we expect the Rangers to have a little bit of rust coming off two full weeks without playing a real NHL game.
We're going to expect New York to need at least half a period, if not the full 20 minutes, to get their footing again and get back into rhythm, despite coach Gerard Gallant pushing the team in recent practices to get back up to speed.
The Rangers haven't been an overly active first-period team this season, sitting in the bottom half of the league in first-period goals over the last month (23rd for the season), so banking on lots of offense from New York in the opening frame is a dicey proposition to begin with.
Expect New York to come out defensive and err on the side of caution while it gets into the flow of an NHL game again — coupled with Boston not having much scoring punch — which has us betting on a lack of action through the first 10 minutes.
Pick: First 10 minutes Under 0.5 goals (+120)
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