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The New York Rangers will head into the state of hockey tonight to take on the Minnesota Wild. The last time these two teams met, on January 28th, the Wild beat the Rangers 3-2 in New York. Since then, the Rangers have been on a tear, going 8-2-1 while the Wild have been struggling lately with a 6-9-0 record. Can the Rangers find revenge and keep their hot streak alive tonight? It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Rangers-Wild prediction and pick.
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Here are the Rangers-Wild NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Rangers-Wild Odds
New York Rangers: +1.5 (-205) (+120 ML)
Minnesota Wild: -1.5 (+160) (-144 ML)
Over: 6 (-120)
Under: 6 (-102)
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Why The Rangers Can Cover The Spread/Win
The New York Rangers come into this game on a three-game winning streak, thanks to their star goaltending in Igor Shesterkin who has all but officially won the Vezina Trophy this year. It's unclear if he'll get the start tonight, even though it seems automatic at this point, or if the Rangers will give backup Alex Georgiev the crease tonight. Shesterkin is the obvious choice as he is averaging just 1.93 goals against per game with a .942 save percentage through 37 games so far this season.
The Rangers are very good defensively as they don't really allow opposing teams to get too many shots off from in close. They have also been stepping it up on offense as well, still keeping it close, but putting pucks in the back of the net regardless. The main question tonight is who will be starting between the pipes for the Rangers, as that will determine who we pick tonight.
Why The Wild Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Minnesota Wild continue to struggle since the All-Star break, dropping down to third place in the Central division now, barely holding off the Stars and Predators, who also play each other tonight. The Wild's chemistry has looked abysmal lately as their defense has allowed 4.85 goals per game over their seven-game slump. Their goaltending hasn't been anything noteworthy as of late, but the battle for starts seems to be pretty back and forth as of now. Since backup Kaapo Kahkonen was pulled during Sunday's loss to the Stars, we should expect starting netminder Cam Talbot to defend the home crease tonight. Talbot is sporting a .908 save percentage and allowing 2.98 goals against per game.
Final Rangers-Wild Prediction & Pick
The pick for this matchup honestly comes down to who will be in the net for the Rangers tonight. Should Shesterkin get the starting nod, I'm picking Rangers Moneyline just because I think they're on a roll and can handle business, especially with a goaltender of that caliber in net for them. However, if Georgiev gets the start tonight, I'll be looking at the over 6 total goals line. There's no easy way to say it, Georgiev isn't a very good goaltender. He lets in a ton of goals per game and the win could go either way if he's in net. With that said, I can see the Rangers pulling a victory against a struggling Wild team tonight, regardless of who starts in net. Give me the Rangers Moneyline while it's still in plus money, assuming that Shesterkin will get the nod.
Final Rangers-Wild Prediction and Pick: Rangers Moneyline (+120)
