NHL Stadium Sequence Picks: Why the Rangers Are Underdogs vs. Panthers

It.s a quiet 4 sport slate within the NHL, however we do get a Signature Occasion Huge Recreation Factor, or regardless of the league calls it (okay, it is the NHL Stadium Sequence). 

At the least they’ve discovered through the years to not bury it in opposition to the Faculty Soccer Playoffs. 

Anyhow, right here’s my NHL Decide for the day.

NHL Season Stats
Report: 15–21
Models: –5.41

Rangers vs. Panthers

Rangers ML (+130 BetRivers)

Does outside hockey in South Florida sound unusual? Effectively, we get to see the way it performs out tonight because the Rangers and Panthers sq. off at loanDepot Park, residence of the Miami Marlins. Presumably the roof will stay open, in any other case I actually don’t get the purpose. I like the frozen outside video games in tremendous attention-grabbing venues like Wrigley or a well-known CFB stadium. I’ve been to some Marlins video games, it’s past meh.

However I digress, we’re on the lookout for some worth right here. And I see it on the Rangers for a pair causes.

For one, there’s simply no residence ice benefit in any respect. It isn’t the Panthers precise enviornment and the group might be blended at finest and if something will doubtless tilt Rangers Blue to the extent that issues. And whereas New York is the worst residence crew within the league, they’re among the best once they depart city. They’ve gone 14-8-2 on the season and outscored opponents 73-59. They’ve yielded simply 2.43 Targets per 60 minutes.

And maybe most significantly they only received star defenseman Adam Fox again. That’s big for a particularly prime heavy crew, particularly on the Energy Play the place they utterly flailed in his absence.

By April, Florida will doubtless flip into among the best groups within the league once more as they search a third straight Cup. However its January and Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov stay out. Sure its a excessive profile sport and the Panthers do appear to stand up for these. 

However they only haven’t gotten all that a lot going this season. They did enhance record-wise in December with a 9-4-1 mark, but it surely got here with only a 50-47 aim benefit and 50.19 xGF% that screams league common.

And once more, the oddness of the venue is the nice equalizer. This isn’t taking part in a choose up sport on a frozen pond like many of those gamers have performed. Its outside in delicate temps in a baseball stadium. I’m not going to faux I understand how that performs out however I do know I need plus odds and I get the higher goalie as well as Igor Shesterkin (91% Save$, 10.36 GSAA) has utterly outplayed the non playoff model of Sergei Bobrovsky (88.8% Save%, -6.67 GSAA). 

Lets Go Rangers!