The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning are facing off against each other for the first time since opening night.
The Lightning are playing their second game of a back-to-back after beating the Canadiens on home ice last night and the Rangers are coming off of one of their worst losses of the season on Tuesday night, losing at home to the Capitals 4-0.
Despite the bad loss on Tuesday, the Rangers are still 8-2-0 in their last 10 games, so there is no reason to panic. The Lightning have also been strong in their last 10, going 7-3-0.
Ahead of a fun Eastern Conference matchup, check out our NHL picks for the Lightning vs. Rangers.
Rangers vs Lightning best odds
Rangers vs Lightning picks and predictions
The Under is definitely a trend between these two teams, and how could it not be with two of the best goaltenders in the world. The Under has hit in six straight meetings between the Rangers and Lightning, but in this game, I am strictly looking at the opening 20 minutes.
A crazy statistic about these two teams is that there has only been one first-period goal scored in the last five meetings between them.
The Rangers will probably come out with as much energy as they can possibly find after their horrible performance on Tuesday, but the Lightning and Andrei Vasilevskiy are a strong enough team to weather that storm.
Tampa currently is averaging just 0.76 goals against in the first period and the Rangers are allowing 0.69 goals against in the opening frame.
I think the Under trend will continue and both goalies, Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin, will be on top of their game in the opening frame.
My best bet: First period Under 1.5 (+105 at BetMGM)
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Rangers vs Lightning moneyline analysis
The Rangers have had a ton of success against the Lightning in the regular season and since Tampa is playing for the second straight night, the Rangers might have a bit of an advantage.
That being said, both teams have been on very hot stretches as of late, making it a little more difficult to pick a side in this game.
With the Rangers having the rest factor in their favor, plus all of the drama going on which should hopefully light a spark in them, I think they will come out strong and do everything in their power to win this game.
Rangers vs Lightning Over/Under analysis
Vasilevskiy versus Shesterkin, need I say more
The Rangers and Lightning are becoming quite the rivalry thanks to this goalie battle and we aren’t seeing a whole lot of goal-scoring when they play each other. The Under has hit in six straight meetings between these two teams and I have no reason to believe that it won’t hit for the seventh straight time.
The Lightning are one of the best offensive teams in the league, but both teams are very good on the defensive end.
The Rangers’ power play had many struggles in their most recent game and Gerard Gallant continues to shuffle up the forward lines making it a little more difficult for them to find chemistry. All signs point to the Under here and it’s hard to convince me otherwise when these two goalies go up against one another.
Rangers vs Lightning betting trend to know
The Under is 6-0 in the last six games overall. Find more NHL betting trends for Rangers vs Lightning.
Rangers vs Lightning game info
| Location: | Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL |
| Date: | Thursday, December 29, 2022 |
| Puck drop: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Bally Sports Sun, MSG2 |
