Rangers Eyeing Second Place in Metropolitan
The Buffalo Sabres are a much-improved team. However, that might not result in the Sabres making the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Sabres did not help themselves by losing in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens, the last-place team in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo is seven points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.
The New York Rangers squandered a chance to move into a tie with the New Jersey Devils for second place in the Metropolitan Division after a 2-1 loss to New Jersey on Thursday.
The Rangers are 7-5-2 when playing on the second day of back-to-back games, so keep that in mind when making NHL picks.
When looking at some of the NHL news, Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren has missed 15 of the last 16 games as a result of an upper-body injury and he is questionable for this game. Tage Thompson, who leads Buffalo with 44 goals and 89 points, is questionable for Buffalo as are fellow forwards Jordan Greenway, Vinnie Hinostroza, defenseman Mattias Samuelson and goalie Craig Anderson.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Rangers (+1200) are tied for fifth in the odds to win the Stanley Cup title. The Sabres are well back at +20000 in the championship odds.
Defense Never Rests
One reason why the Rangers could be such a dangerous team in the Stanley Cup playoffs is the way they have been getting the job done in their own zone.
Since the start of March, only New York and Vancouver are in the top five in the NHL in goals-against average and penalty-killing percentage. Those numbers are even more impressive when considering that Ryan Lindgren, one of the Rangers’ best defensemen and penalty-killers, has played in just one game in the month.
The Rangers have allowed just 13 goals over the last eight games. Only one player has a negative plus/minus number during that stretch while defensemen K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba are tied for the NHL lead with a +9 defensive rating during that stretch.
The Las Vegas odds total have gone under in four of New York’s last five road games.
Levi Set to Debut
It is hard to know what to make of this Buffalo team.
The Sabres have wins over playoff-bound Toronto and New Jersey teams in the month of March but also have losses to Philadelphia and Montreal teams that will only be going to playoff games this season if they buy tickets.
Since the win over Toronto, Buffalo is 2-3-2 and that is hardly the way to make up ground in the quest to return to the playoffs.
Only Columbus and Anaheim allow more goals per game during that stretch of games than Buffalo. The Sabres have used three goalies during that span with Eric Comrie (1-0-1, .945 save percentage) the most effective.
Now, former Northeastern goalie Devon Levi gets to make his NHL debut playing behind one of the leakiest defenses in the league. Levi was acquired along with a 2022 first-round pick for forward Sam Reinhart.
There’s a lot of excitement in Buffalo as #Sabres goalie Devon Levi gets set for his NHL debut tonight against the Rangers, including from the young man himself.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment my whole life.”https://t.co/UokhsbtCkE
— Heather Engel (@engelheather) March 31, 2023
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in five of Buffalo’s last seven games.
Rangers vs Sabres Game Injuries
Rangers vs Sabres Head-to-Head
The Rangers have won the last six games against the Sabres and 10 of the last 11. Each of the last four meetings and six of the last eight finished as one-goal games.
In the first matchup between the teams this season, Igor Shesterkin had 32 saves and Artemi Panarin scored on the power play in overtime in the 2-1 win.
Buffalo’s last win in the series did come at home on Apr. 3, 2021, with the Sabres winning in a shootout.
Five of the last eight games between the teams finished under the total.
Rangers vs Sabres Game Information
- Game: Rangers (44-21-10) vs Sabres (35-31-7)
- Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
- Day/Time: Friday, March 31, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Rangers vs Sabres Live stream: NHL.TV
Rangers vs Sabres Betting Lines
Rangers vs Sabres Picks and Prediction
There is some excitement with Levi set to make his NHL debut after two brilliant seasons at Northeastern. He will be facing a Rangers team eager to rebound after being limited to one power-play goal in a loss to New Jersey.
The Rangers have scored 27 goals in the seven games after being limited to one goal or less this season so Levi could have his work cut out for him.
There were just five penalties called the last time these teams met. However, the last of those resulted in Panarin’s power-play goal in overtime in the 2-1 victory.
The Rangers are 23-14 against the spread on the road, one of the top marks in the NHL. Buffalo has covered in 17 of its first 38 home games.
The Rangers are 32-18-4 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Buffalo is 23-28-5 as the underdog.
The New York Rangers are listed at -140 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Rangers, you have a chance to win $71. Buffalo is +120, offering a chance to win $120 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines give the New York Rangers a 58.33% chance to win, with the Buffalo Sabres at 45.45%
Rangers vs Sabres Trends
Rangers vs SabresEdge
Rangers vs Sabres Results
Rangers vs Sabres Game Summary
