The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers are set to meet for the third time in three weeks, and we have our eye on the road favorites in our NHL picks and predictions.
The Penguins are on a two-game losing streak, but both losses came at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
The Rangers are coming off of a big road win against the Devils and they have brought it to the Pens in every meeting — tonight is huge for them.
See who has the NHL betting edge for Wild vs. Predators on Thursday, April 7.
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Penguins vs Rangers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Rangers opened up as -125 road favorites, the line has moved in the Penguins’ favor and the Rangers are now down to -110. The total opened up at 5.5 and hasn’t had any movement.
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.
Penguins vs Rangers predictions
Predictions made on 3/7/2022 at 10:20 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Penguins vs Rangers game info
• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022
• Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: HULU, Sportsnet East
Penguins vs Rangers betting preview
Key injuries
Penguins: Jason Zucker F (Questionable), Brock McGinn F (Out), Nate Beaulieu D (Out).
Rangers: Libor Hajek D (Out), Kaapo Kakko F (Out), Kevin Rooney F (Out), Sammy Blais F (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Penguins vs Rangers head-to-head record
Penguins: 6-4-0 SU, 31 goals for.
Rangers: 4-5-1 SU, 30 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The home team is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Penguins vs. Rangers.
Penguins vs Rangers picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Rangers have become a problem for this Pittsburgh Penguins team. The last time these two sides met in New York, the Penguins were the road favorite, but it seems like people are starting to consider the Rangers a legitimate team now. In the previous three meetings this season, the Rangers are 2-0-1 and have outscored the Pens by a combined 8-4.
Even though the Rangers have gotten the best of the Penguins this season, you can never count a team like them out. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have played together for the last decade and they are gearing up for what could be one final playoff run together. The Pens are only four points behind the Rangers and all signs seem to be pointing to these two teams meeting in the first round of the playoffs. This means that the Pens are going to need to send a message tonight in the final meeting of the regular season.
Tristan Jarry is going to have to step it up tonight as he has not been all that impressive in his last three starts, going 0-3-0 and allowing 11 goals on a combined 95 shots against. Jarry has been great in net all season, but has he possibly been overachieving?
Igor Shesterkin has been incredible against the Penguins this season with a record of 2-0-1, while only allowing four goals on 71 shots. His team has done a fantastic job at defending the Pens and limiting their chances — they only have scored one five-on-five goal in three games against the Rangers.
It’s clear that the Rangers have outmatched Pittsburgh all year and the last time they met in New York City, the home team dominated. I think that will be the same result tonight.
Prediction: Rangers ML (-110 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
Two out of the three games played between these two teams have been very close and low-scoring, and tonight should be one of those kinds of games. Both teams are anticipating a first-round matchup against one another so tonight’s meeting will be a tune up for that potential series.
The Penguins have struggled mightily to score goals against the Rangers, but right now, they have the 11th-best offense, averaging 3.3 gpg. In their previous three games, they have scored a total of 10 goals, but their power play has not been all that great. They’ve only scored one power-play goal in these three games and have gotten a total of eight chances. They’re going to need their man advantage unit to step up tonight since they’ve only scored one even-strength goal in three games against the Rangers.
The Rangers haven’t been scoring many goals of late either. In their last three games, they’ve only put up a total of six goals. The goal-scoring won’t come easy for the Rangers tonight, considering the fact that the Pens are the fourth-best defensive team in the league, only allowing 2.65 goals against per game. The Rangers are an even better defensive team right now, ranking third and only giving up 2.58 goals per game.
We have seen Jarry and Shesterkin duel it out all season long, and tonight will once again come down to the goaltending. Both teams’ offenses haven’t been that hot as of late, and they both do a fantastic job defending. I think this game will stay Under.
Prediction: Under 5.5 (+105 at BetMGM)
Best bet
This is going to be a very exciting game and I am positive that it will have a playoff atmosphere. The Rangers have outplayed the Penguins in the season series and, as good as this Pittsburgh team is, they don’t seem to be at their best when they go up against the Rangers.
The Rangers have been the much better team at 5-on-5 as the goal difference in this season series when both teams are at full strength is 7-1 in favor of the New York. As long as the Rangers play discipline and stay out of the box this will be their game to lose.
I think the Rangers have the edge both offensively and in goal, as Shesterkin has outshined Jarry in two of the three meetings. Thus, I’m backing the Rangers to win on home ice.
Pick: Rangers ML (-110 at BetMGM)
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