NHL Picks: How to Bet New York Rangers vs. Carolina Home and Home

Schedule Breakdown

Simply, here are the number of hockey games by night. 

• Monday - 5
• Tuesday – 13
• Wednesday – 2
• Thursday – 12

They schedule yo-yo’s again this week, but there are five games on Monday, guaranteeing a few back-to-backs. After that, there are a couple of excellent contests on Wednesday. Both games are televised on TNT.

More back-to-backs come on the weekends. Again, watch for teams coming off back-to-backs from the last weekend alone. That is sometimes how NHL scheduling works. 

• Florida (Monday, Tuesday)
• Detroit (Monday, Tuesday)
• Ottawa (Monday, Tuesday)
• Calgary (Monday, Tuesday)
• Pittsburgh (Wednesday, Thursday)

Again, some of these teams above may be ripe for picking against. Then, teams like Buffalo and Nashville cannot stay healthy — injuries mount to the point where rosters are shells of their former selves. We should mention Montreal, whose roster looks more like an AHL squad. 

Home And Home For New York And Carolina

The schedule makers possess a sense of humor combined with occasionally good timing. This week is no exception as the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes get reacquainted with a home-and-home mini-series. Can Carolina hold on to the division lead? New Jersey is right, and the Rangers have crept up to 92 points. 

Carolina lost Andrei Svechnikov to a torn ACL. That is a massive blow in terms of intangibles. Never mind that Svechnikov was a 40+ goal threat, the Hurricanes lost a dynamic player who would have been a real difference-maker in April and May. Add the goaltending issues that have cropped up, and the Hurricanes are now in survival mode. Meanwhile, the Rangers are streaking. 

This is who New York is. There are plenty of ebbs and flows. Currently, the Rangers have won four straight games and have repeatedly covered the Puckline. Igor Shesterkin has five consecutive wins and looks like the Vezina Award winner from last year again. These two games are more important for Carolina as the Rangers continue to chase, and so does New Jersey.

Wednesday On TNT Gives Us Some Drama For Thursday

Wednesday gives us Pittsburgh and Colorado. The Penguins backed themselves into a corner as they squandered some of their games in hand. Worse, they head out on the road to play Colorado, then Dallas on back-to-back nights. This week does Pittsburgh zero favors. After going 5-1-1 over their previous seven, the Penguins have dropped three straight. 

Meanwhile, Colorado keeps plugging away, despite the injuries. The Avalanche are now on pace for more than 100 points. Also, Colorado stands a chance of being the top seed in the West. It is three points away from Dallas and six from Vegas. This is not impossible; the team speed matches up well against an aging core in Pittsburgh. 

We remembered Thursday also offers Calgary and Vegas as the Flames try to boost their playoff hopes. Can Darryl Sutter and Brad Treliving save their jobs? Will the Flames be a thorn in the sides of Vegas as they try to win the Pacific Division? Expect chaos.

Finally, watch those bubble teams. Florida plays Toronto on Thursday after a back-to-back against Detroit and Philadelphia. The Panthers are back to being an entertaining team to watch. However, their three-way battle with Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders remains far from over.

Some Quick Points To Consider

• An Avalanche, Oilers, and Kings parlay pays out at +200 tonight.
• The Florida Puckline (+125) is worth a look against a demoralized Detroit team.
• Chicago-Colorado Over could be teased up to 6.5 on Monday.
• New York-Carolina takes center stage twice.
• Calgary and Los Angeles are EVEN right now. Taking a risk in Los Angeles might be interesting.
• Nashville and Buffalo on Tuesday could be high-scoring or a total dud. 
   

Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will carry some more plays on social media as conditions warrant.

Thanks to BetMGM for great early-week lines and TSN for the convenient schedule.