The desperate New York Rangers will look to extend their winning ways at the expense of the Columbus Blue Jackets when the two Eastern Conference rivals square off on Friday night. With the Rangers having won three straight and the Blue Jackets looking to snap a three-game slide, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their NHL Odds in the Rangers vs Blue Jackets.
Rangers vs Blue Jackets NHL Spread, Analysis and Predictions
- When: Friday February 14, 2020, 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
- TV: FSOH, MSG
- NHL Odds: NY Rangers +125/Columbus -145 / Total: 5.5
Why Bet On The NY Rangers
New York has won three straight as they look to make a move up from 10t place in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The Rangers got past Minnesota 4-3 in a shootout thriller on Thursday night as Mika Zibanejad tied the game with 1:06 remaining in regulation before ending the game with a shootout goal to life New York to victory. Zibanejad has been on fire recently with six goals and seven assists in his last nine games. New York averages an impressive 3.3 goals per game to rank seventh in scoring, but the Rangers also allow 3.1 goals per game defensively to rank an uninspiring 22nd in goals allowed. New York has gone a decent 13-11-1-1 on the road this season.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.3
- Shots: 30.96
- PP/PK Percentage: 23.6
- Goals: 3.16
- Shots: 33.98
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.83
Rangers Betting Trends
- Rangers are 4-0 in their last 4 road games.
- Rangers are 5-1 in their last 6 games as an underdog.
- Rangers are 4-1 in their last 5 overall.
- Rangers are 10-3 in their last 13 vs. Metropolitan.
- Rangers are 8-3 in their last 11 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Rangers are 5-2 in their last 7 games playing on 0 days rest.
Why Bet On Columbus
The Blue Jackets have dropped three straight and will be looking to end that skid before dropping any further out of seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Blue Jackets were on the wrong end of a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss against Buffalo on Thursday night. Nathan Gerbe, Boone Jenner and Markus Nutivaara all scored in the loss as goalie Matiss Kivlenieks allowed all four goals on 27 shot attempts.
Columbus will be without the services of all-star defenseman Seth Jones for the next 8-10 weeks after the 25-year-old underwent ankle surgery earlier this week. The Blue Jackets average an uninspiring 2.6 goals per game (27th), but Columbus is elite at the other end of the ice in limiting their opponents to just 2.4 goals per game to rank a stellar second in goals allowed. The Blue jackets have gone a solid 18-10-2-1 at home this season.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.6
- Shots: 31.98
- PP/PK Percentage: 16.46
- Goals: 2.47
- Shots: 29.81
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.33
Blue Jackets Betting Trends
- Blue Jackets are 6-1 in their last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
- Blue Jackets are 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite.
- Blue Jackets are 4-1 in their last 5 games playing on 0 days rest.
- Blue Jackets are 6-2 in their last 8 home games.
- Blue Jackets are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. a team with a winning record.
Rangers vs Blue Jackets Expert Analysis and Prediction
Columbus has been out of sorts lately while new York is playing some solid hockey as of late. Still, I’m banking on some sheer desperation, combined with the fact that the Rangers are awful defensively, to be the main reasons why Columbus takes care of business in this intriguing affair. The Rangers are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings against Columbus and an uninspiring 12-27 in their last 39 games following a win. On the flip side of the coin, the Blue Jackets are an unblemished 4-0 in their last 4 games as a home favorite, 13-4 in their last 17 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and a scorching 18-8 in their last 26 overall. Columbus wins, but it won’t be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination!
Pick: Columbus 4 NY Rangers 3
