Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers Prediction, Pick and Preview, May 3 (5/3): NHL

Credit: photo by Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time	7:00 p.m. EST
Penguins money line	+105
Penguins spread	+1.5 (-240)
Rangers money line	-125
Rangers spread	-1.5 (+200)
Over / under	5.5

 

2021-2022 season stats

	Pittsburgh Penguins	New York Rangers
Record	46-25-11	52-24-6
Road / home record	23-12-6	27-10-4
Streak	W1	W1
Goals per game	3.28	3.04
Goals allowed per game	2.71	2.47
Shots per game	34.7	29.1
Shots allowed per game	31.4	30.8
PP %	20.2%	25.20%
PK %	14.98%	17.65%
Over / under record	40-39-3	32-46-4

 

Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers will meet at at the Madison Square Garden in New York to play Game 1 of the playoffs 1st round in the East. This is the fifth time these teams face off this season, the Rangers won 3 of the last 4 games. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have won 3 of their last 5 games and are 23-18 on the road with a 46-25-11 overall ranking third in the Metropolitan division. Pittsburgh is 10th in the NHL recording 9 points per game, averaging 3.3 goals and 5.7 assists.

Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 84 points and 40 goals while Kris Letang is leading in assists with 58 for Pittsburgh.

In their last 10 games the Penguins are 5-5, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game with a .924 save percentage.

New York Rangers

The Rangers have lost 3 of their last 5 games and are 27-14 at home this season, with a 52-24-6 record overall ranking 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are 16-10 in division matchups. New York is ninth in the Eastern Conference averaging 5.3 assists per game, led by Artemi Panarin with 1.0.

Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 96 points and 74 assists. Kreider has 52 goals for New York.

In their last 10 games the Rangers are 6-4, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.2 assists, 2.7 penalties and 6.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .946 save percentage.

BETTING TRENDS

Pittsburgh are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games on the road.

Pittsburgh are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers.

NY Rangers are 12-6 SU in their last 18 games.

NY Rangers are 3-1 against Pittsburgh this season.

Prediction

The Rangers have the #3 defense in the NHL and are allowing only 2.1 goals per game in their last 10 games. The Penguins have a good defense as well but are allowing 3.1 gpg in their last 10. The Rangers dominated the Penguins at home this season so I'm going with them to win Game 1.

PICK: Rangers ML (-125)

Find more sports picks from the top sports bettors and NHL experts all in one place using our iOS and Google Play apps, as well as our other articles at Kingpin.pro.  We are the home for NHL picks, sports picks and sports betting.