The New Jersey Devils could send the New York Rangers home tonight, but even with the NHL odds makers on their side, I am expecting for this heated series to see a Game 7. Let's parlay our picks together tonight to max out out payouts.
New Jersey Devils @ New York Rangers
NHL Odds: Devils -120
The New Jersey Devils have won back-to-back games to push the New York Rangers to the brink of elimination. All series long – and maybe all playoffs long – the Rangers have looked like the team with the weight of the world on their shoulders while their opponents have played with the house’s money. Even so, the Rangers have found ways to escape – can they do it one more time? I’m banking on it.
The reason why I’ll be expecting a Game 7 in this series is for three reasons: the Rangers have already played in two other Game 7’s to this point, they’ve proven to be a great bounce-back bet in the playoffs and because goaltender Henrik Lundqvist isn’t going to put forth a second consecutive shoddy effort.
The reason the Rangers are even in this position is because Lunqvist, who is likely the Vezina Trophy winner this season (awarded to the best goaltender in the regular season), had an uncharacteristically poor performance in Game 5. Not only did he give up juicy rebounds, he also allowed a couple of real cheap goals that are normally very routine saves for him. He allowed three goals on the first five shots he saw and made just 12 saves all night.
Much has been made that the Rangers are in the same position they were against the Devils back in 1994 in the Eastern Conference finals when Mark Messier guaranteed a win in Game 6 and then the Rangers followed through. While there aren’t many similarities between those two games, there is one key consistent: the Rangers best player has to lead the way. In 1994, it was Messier. In 2012, it’s Lundqvist and the Rangers need him to play like he normally does and slam the door shut.
Game 6 was the opposite of what we’ve seen in this series: the Devils were actually outplayed but found a way to win. In Games 1 and 3, the opposite has been the case.
NHL odds boards had opened with the Devils at -130, but that has quickly been betted down to -120. This number could fall even more closer to game time, so our value could uickly fade away.
Even so, the Rangers should (oddly) feel good about themselves for Game 6. They’ve beaten Martin Brodeur pretty regularly this series and they know that if Lundqvist is back to his normal self, they’ll be just fine. All playoffs long, the Rangers haven’t fared well when ahead in the series but have played well when they had to. Look for that to be the case in Game 6 as they win and force a Game 7 in what is becoming a heated Eastern Conference rivalry.
NHL Picks: Rangers ---
If you read the above paragraph, you can tell that I’m expecting Lundqvist to have a huge performance in Game 6 and if that’s the case, it makes more sense for me to be with the UNDER.
The key for the Devils has been the three-goal mark. All three times they’ve won this series, they’ve scored at least three goals and every game has gone OVER. In their two losses, they’ve been shutout both times and the games have gone UNDER. I’m betting on the latter as I like the Rangers to get the win.
NHL Picks: UNDER push
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