The NHL Eastern Conference Finals have arrived!
The Rangers and Panthers drop the puck tonight in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, with the winner representing the East in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Blueshirts are coming off of a dramatic, come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 6 to reach the third round for the second time in the last three seasons.
After dropping Game 1 in the conference semifinals, the Panthers won three straight, wrapping up their series with the Bruins with a 2-1 Game 6 victory in Boston at TD Garden.
Here’s our betting analysis and prediction on the puck line, total and moneyline for Game 1 between the Rangers and Panthers tonight at MSG:
Heading into Game 1, the Rangers find themselves in a rare position — underdogs on home ice.
The only loss the Blueshirts have suffered at the world’s most famous arena this postseason was a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes in Game 5 of Round 2.
Outside of that, New York’s won four of five games at home, with three of those contests being decided by one goal, including a 4-3 double overtime victory versus Carolina.
After having the second best road record in the NHL this season (26-11-4), the Panthers have continued that success in the playoffs.
Florida has won four of five contests away from home this postseason, with their last loss coming nearly a month ago in a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Lightning on Apr. 27.
Since then, the Panthers won all three games in Boston, outscoring the Bruins 11-5 on their home ice.
Even with that being said, I don’t see the Rangers — who have only lost once in these playoffs by multiple goals — continue to cover this number.
It’s a heavy price, but the Blueshirts at -265 (Bet $265 to win $100) on BetRivers will cover the +1.5 puck line in Game 1.
For the series opener, the total sits at a lowly 5.5 goals.
Take advantage and bet the over here, especially at +100, also known as even money.
The Rangers have not had an issue finding the back of the net, scoring at least three goals in all but one game this postseason.
The lone exception was Game 6 versus the Hurricanes.
For the Panthers, each of their last three games have featured five or fewer goals. However, in their previous six contests, Florida has had totals of six or more goals in each of those outcomes.
Dating back to the regular season, this head-to-head matchup had all three games go over this line.
If the Rangers can get enough shots through to Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, this total will exceed this line, especially early on in this series.
Wager on the over 5.5 goals at +100 (Bet $100 to win $100) on both BetMGM and ESPN Bet.
In both the series and in Game 1, the Blueshirts are underdogs — especially to win the Stanley Cup, where they’re the biggest underdog of the final four remaining teams at 4/1 (Bet $100 to win $400).
If there was any motivation to be had, the President Trophy winning Rangers can take it here, currently being disrespected by the oddsmakers despite owning the best record in the regular season and winning eight of their 10 games this postseason.
The beginning of a playoff series is always a feeling out process, especially for two teams that haven’t played against one another in two months.
I believe there will be plenty of open ice and scoring chances in this one, with New York capitalizing slightly more than the Panthers do.
With a sellout crowd cheering the Blueshirts on from pre-game to the final horn — they get the job done — taking a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 back at MSG on Friday night.
In New Jersey, BetRivers currently has the best option to get the Rangers as an underdog on the moneyline with the price of -104 (Bet $104 to win $100).
