The New York Rangers find themselves down in the Sunshine State to take on the Florida Panthers as their NHL Season comes to a close. The Rags have been eliminated from the playoffs and have just two games remaining, as they host the Lightning on Thursday to end a season they've wanted to forget. As for the Panthers, they are in the postseason, looking to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, but can still change seeds, so they'll need any points they can get.
The Panthers have gotten the best of the Rangers both times these teams linked up earlier in the year. Back in late October, the Panthers won by a score of 3-1 in New York, and then beat them 5-3 in late December when the Rangers came to town. Now they have a chance to complete the season series sweep if they win again tonight.
Can they do so? Or will the Rangers rally and win this one for pride?
My famous last words… "in regulation"… Look, I have no interest in paying the -167 on the ML this late in the season. Even though the Panthers can move both up, something tells me that juice isn't worth the squeeze in this situation. I'll take the three way ML for less juice and hope they get it done in 60.
Despite having more penalty minutes in both games, the Panthers ended up on top thanks to some great goaltending. Tonight they will have Bobrovsky in net, which is always a good sign. He ranks 5th in the NHL in goals against average, allowing less than 2.40 per game, while also posting a save percentage of .908. Florida has accumulated 20 penalty minutes in two games against the Rangers, but New York is not a team that takes advantage, ranking 27th in PP%, converting on just 18% of those opportunities.
This is also just a motivation play for me. The Rangers are eliminated and have nothing to play for. Sure, they want to avoid being swept by the Panthers, but in the grand scheme of things, that does not mean as much as it could for Florida. The Panthers can not be caught by Ottawa, and they cannot jump the Maple Leafs for 1st in the Atlantic Division. However, there is still a chance for them to catch the Lightning and claim 2nd in the division, thus giving themselves home-ice advantage in the first round.
Therefore, the Panthers need every point they can find, they need this win, and I think they get it in front of their home crowd.
Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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