Much of the talk surrounding the New York Rangers has — rightfully so — centered around the incredible Vezina Trophy-level play of Igor Shesterkin, who has played a huge role in New York’s surprising success. The questions for the Rangers are whether they can be good enough at five-on-five to win in the postseason and whether they can hang with the league’s best teams for a full series.
New York has a great test in that regard on Sunday as the Rangers visit the Carolina Hurricanes in the day’s headline game. New York can also gain some ground on the Hurricanes in the tight Metropolitan Division race.
Let’s check what the BetUS sportsbook has to say about Sunday’s games and provide a preview for each:
New York Islanders vs Philadelphia Flyers
The New York Islanders have finally hit their stride even if it might be too late in the season to ultimately make much of a difference. With their convincing 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday, the Islanders have now won five of their last six and have a favorable matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
The Flyers have dropped four of five and just traded franchise cornerstone and longtime captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers. It was basically inevitable that Giroux would be dealt but he was their unquestioned leader and second-best scorer, so it’s likely that Philadelphia will have some kind of hangover effect from his departure.
New York has the rest disadvantage but will have Ilya Sorokin available in net after Semyon Varlamov got the start against Dallas. The Islanders are solid road favorites and you should take them either to win straight-up or to win in regulation if you’re looking for extra value. The under is a really smart play here too.
Dallas Stars vs Washington Capitals
This is a tough spot for the Dallas Stars who lost to the New York Islanders on Saturday with starting goalie Jake Oettinger in net. Now, with no rest, they have to travel to D.C. to take on a Washington Capitals team that has won four straight games (and seven of eight overall).
Washington is clicking on both ends of the ice right now and is a comfortable home favorite on the NHL betting lines. Granted, the Capitals have played four overtime/shootout games in their last five contests — winning three of those — so Washington hasn’t been blowing out teams, but the Capitals have the rest advantage and have been putting up plenty of goals.
Go with the Capitals straight-up here. Dallas is struggling and Washington is finally playing up to its talent level. The Stars are also missing star defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes
Fresh off one of their best wins of the season — a 2-1 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning capped by a late game-winning goal from Mika Zibanejad — the New York Rangers have another rough matchup as they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
No. 1 netminder Shesterskin has handled both ends of back-to-backs at times this season, so he might be between the pipes again. That will matter a lot here because the Rangers are an elite team with Shesterkin and a mediocre one with backup Alexandar Georgiev.
Carolina is a huge home favorite, which makes sense because the Rangers are at a rest disadvantage and might have to turn to Georgiev. Also, Carolina has lost three in a row and is one of the league’s best home teams. This is a great bounceback spot for the Hurricanes.
Winnipeg Jets vs Chicago Blackhawks
Just about the only thing the Chicago Blackhawks have going for them in this game is that Marc-Andre Fleury should make the start. Chicago traded one one its best players in Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning this week and is coming off a lifeless 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Now, in the second half of a back-to-back, the Blackhawks will play host to the Winnipeg Jets who have perked up a little bit as of late but are still playoff longshots. More trades could be on the horizon for Chicago as general manager Kyle Davidson begins a full rebuild in earnest.
So, go with Winnipeg straight-up as slight road favorites if you’re b. The Jets have been playing a little better while the Blackhawks have been consistently bad all season and keep shedding their existing talent.
Arizona Coyotes vs San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks have fallen after beating the Los Angeles Kings in consecutive games. San Jose has dropped three straight as they welcome the surging Arizona Coyotes, who have won six of eight despite being mired in trade rumors and dealing with some injuries.
Arizona has been bad from the get-go this season but the Coyotes deserve some credit for how they’ve played over the past few weeks, particularly on offense. Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller have led the way with points in nearly every game during this stretch.
The Coyotes are still huge road underdogs — in large part because they lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night — yet Arizona is a decent value at that number. Consider taking the Coyotes and the under because the Sharks don’t score (or give up) many goals.
Buffalo Sabres vs Vancouver Canucks
With every defeat, the Vancouver Canucks’ slim playoff chances get smaller and smaller. Vancouver has dropped four of its last five games including a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday at home. Thatcher Demko — starting his eighth game in a row — allowed three first-period goals and the Canucks never had a chance.
The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, have won three of their last four games thanks to some solid goaltending from Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski. Buffalo totally shut down Calgary in a 1-0 overtime win on Friday, which was one of the Sabres’ more impressive performances of a mostly forgettable year.
Vancouver is still a hefty home favorite even at a rest disadvantage. The Canucks on the puckline is enticing but Demko might give way to Jaroslav Halak in goal but the Sabres as road underdogs might be the side to back. The over is a smart move too.
