Rangers vs Capitals Picks and Predictions: Beefed-Up Blueshirts Ready To Rumble In DC

The New York Rangers underwent a massive overhaul in the offseason, resulting in a new coach, GM, and a drastically different roster. New York backers will get their first glimpse of these new-look Blueshirts Wednesday when they visit the Washington Capitals for each team's season opener.

 The Caps are favorites tonight but might be without their two stalwart forwards for this game. Does that give the Rangers great NHL betting value?

Here are our best free picks and predictions for Rangers vs. Capitals on October 13.

Rangers vs Capitals odds

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Rangers vs Capitals picks

• Rangers ML (+100)
• Over 6 (-120)

Picks made on 10/13/2021 at 10:13 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Rangers vs Capitals game info

• Location: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
• Date: Wednesday, October 13, 2021
• Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT

Rangers vs Capitals betting preview

Injuries

Rangers: Ryan Strome C (Questionable), Ryan Reaves RW (Questionable).
Capitals: Alex Ovechkin LW (Questionable), Nicklas Backstrom C (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.

Rangers vs Capitals head-to-head record

Rangers: 4-4-0, 26 goals.
Capitals: 4-4-0, 23 goals.

Betting trend to know

The Over is 3-0-1 in the last four head-to-head meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Rangers vs. Capitals.

Rangers ML (+100)

A horrid start last year sunk New York's season before it really got started, and after missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, owner James Dolan decided to clean house, firing GM Jeff Gorton, president John Davidson, and head coach David Quinn.

Now the show is run by former NHLer Chris Drury, with Gerard Gallant behind the bench, and the offseason mantra was very simple: the roster was too soft and needed to toughen up.

So, out the door went Pavel Buchnevich (traded) and Colin Blackwell (expansion draft) while the team added the likes of Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, Ryan Reaves, Patrik Nemeth, and Jarred Tinordi — adding a distinctive element of toughness to a roster that has elite offensive weapons in Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, plus promising youngsters in Alexis Lafreniere and Kappo Kakko.

There were many whispers that New York's obsession with toughness was fueled by a desire to combat Washington's tough guy Tom Wilson. It's hard to ignore that rumor, considering Wilson went full WWE in rag-dolling both Panarin and Buchnevich in a post-whistle scrum late last season... and nobody stood up to the Caps tough guy.

It's fitting that these beefed-up Blueshirts get their first test against Wilson and Washington, although the Caps won't be at 100 percent — longtime star C Nicklas Backstrom is out for the first 10 games, while future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin is questionable with a lower-body injury.

Ovie wasn't expected to play at all but after skating Tuesday in an optional practice, there's a chance he could suit up. He'll likely be a game-time decision, but even if he does play, it's hard to imagine he's close to fully healthy.

The Caps' blueline remains the same as the unit that was middle-of-the-pack last year, giving up 2.88 goals per game, compared to a young Rangers blueline that added more toughness and looks improved defensively after surrendering 2.77 gpg. This goaltending is a wash, with both clubs boasting talented young netminders in New York's Igor Shesterkin and Washington's Ilya Samsonov.

The Caps injuries leave their roster just slightly less deep than New York, and combined with the Rangers' likely desire to emphasize their new toughness right away — and shove it in Wilson's face — we think that's enough of an edge to side with the road team at even money.  

Over 6 (-120)

The Caps won't have Backstrom and at best would have a limited Ovechkin, but it still has the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Anthony Mantha, and John Carlson. There's still firepower on this roster, while the Rangers are looking for Lafreniere and Kakko to take a big step forward in top-six roles alongside Panarin, Zibanejad, Strome, and Kreider, with some added protection from the grittier bottom-six.

Both of these clubs were Top-10 scoring teams (combined 6.5 gpg) last year overall and, more importantly, were dangerous on the power play.

Washington was third in the league in power-play percentage, with the feature being Ovechkin's booming shot — which, even if he's hurt, he can still sit in his office and fire away with the man advantage — while New York was in the top half of the league for the year (20.67 percent) but kicked it into high gear in the second half, converting power-play chances at a 28.9-percent clip.

These clubs also took the second and sixth-most penalties per game last season, and with the Rangers determined to be more physical, going against Wilson, plus the added juice of Opening Night, we're expecting both teams to get plenty of chances with the man advantage — and capitalizing on them.

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