The New York Rangers can basically wrap up the Metropolitan Division with a win over the Detroit Red Wings in MoTown on Friday night.
The Blueshirts will head into the game with a five-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes with six games to go (the Canes play Washington on Friday).
If they hold serve, it would force Carolina to run the table to even have a chance of overtaking them at the top of the table.
It won’t be an easy task, however, as the Red Wings are going to be in desperation mode as they are fighting to break a seven-season playoff drought.
The Rangers are a -135 favorite at DraftKings.
Rangers vs. Red Wings prediction
It’s hard to find too much to complain about when it comes to the New York Rangers this season and of late.
The Blueshirts have been atop the Metropolitan Division for the entire season and are 21-5-1 with a +30 goal difference since the All-Star Break.
More recently, the Rangers have won six of seven, collecting wins over the Bruins, Avalanche and Panthers in the process.
That said, the Rangers still do have some skeptics out there.
Nobody is arguing against the fact that the Blueshirts are one of the best teams in the NHL, but there are some holes you can poke in their game, especially at 5-on-5. The Rangers rank in the bottom-third in the NHL in expected goals rate and high-danger scoring chance percentage this season and their +5 goal difference at 5-on-5 is right in the middle of the pack.
There have been stretches where the Rangers have picked up their 5-on-5 play, but of late the numbers look close to their season-long portfolio.
We know by now that the Rangers don’t need to dominate at 5-on-5 to win games. They have plenty of game-breakers up front, one of the best goaltenders in the world and elite special teams, and that is more than enough to get you by in the NHL these days.
The Red Wings don’t have most of those luxuries.
Detroit has plenty of offensive upside and is strong on the power play, but the Red Wings have had some real ugly stretches of hockey over the course of the year, especially defensively.
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To combat those issues, Detroit has opted to shut things down as much as possible recently. The Wings have done a great job of suppressing scoring chances of late, but that commitment to defensive hockey has also taken a bite out of their offensive production.
Detroit knows it can’t skate with the Rangers in a back-and-forth affair, so this game could end up looking like a rock fight as the Wings try to shut things down and the Blueshirts wait out their opponent and look to hit on the counter.
The Under 6 looks like a bet Friday night.
The Bet: Under 6 (-108, DraftKings)