The Rangers will allow shots on net, but goaltender Igor Shesterkin will turn most of them away against the Penguins tonight.
NHL
The New York Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins at storied Madison Square Garden to open the 2025-26 NHL regular season on Tuesday, October 7.
My top Penguins vs. Rangers predictions and NHL picks are calling for New York to win comfortably on the heels of a solid showing from star goalie Igor Shesterkin tonight.
Penguins vs Rangers Best bet: Igor Shesterkin Over 23.5 saves (-125)
I’m anticipating a tidy Game 1 from New York Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin. While he’s coming off a bit of a down season with a .905 save percentage, he was excellent against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a 3-1 record and impressive .933 SV% and 2.02 GAA.
Add his career .926 and 2.07 marks against the division rivals, and Shesterkin has plenty of familiarity with the Pens.
Still, this lean is more about Pittsburgh being able to generate enough shooting opportunities to send Shesterkin’s save total Over the number.
New York allowed the ninth-most shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 and the sixth-most shots per game last season, so with limited practice time and a short preseason, Pittsburgh should approach 27 to 28 shots tonight.
Additionally, considering the outlook for the Penguins heading into the 2025-26 campaign, I wouldn’t be surprised to see plenty of pucks on net given the lack of skilled scorers.
As noted, the Penguins lack talent around the aging staples, and No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry is coming off his worst season as a pro with an .892 save percentage and 3.12 GAA.
New York, on the flip side, has undergone a major roster overhaul since last season. The Rangers also have their eyes set on returning to the postseason and have the personnel to do just that.
Penguins rookie Ville Koivunen is set for a top-line gig alongside Sidney Crosby, and the Finn recorded two or more shots in five of eight NHL games last spring. He and Crosby also clicked for a solid 52.3 Corsi For percentage and 61.0% shot-share rate during the stretch.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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Neil Parker is, first and foremost, a sports fan. A huge supporter of the Cowboys, Cubs, and Maple Leafs, he has managed to parlay his passion into writing gigs at some of the top websites in the industry.
Neil takes a numbers-based approach to his handicapping and complements his in-depth statistical analysis with a keen eye on the markets to provide the best available odds. He loves to lean on his rolodex of idioms to offset his inner nerd. When it comes to wagering, he throws down on anything that catches his eye at bet365, Betway and BetVictor. He also keeps a close eye on CoolBet because the polar bear brand often has outlier NHL and NFL moneyline prices.
Neil graduated with honors from St. Thomas University in 2007 before completing his BEd at Acadia University in 2010. After teaching a myriad of courses and subjects, he found a groove delivering fun lessons to exceptional learners in non-traditional classroom environments. If his decade-plus teaching run taught him anything about sports betting, it’s to stay the course and use the summer – or offseason – to refresh and prepare to be better in the year to come.
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