The Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers meet for game 6 of their NHL betting playoff series which the former lead 3-2. The Sens rallied to send game 5 into overtime on Saturday, where Kyle Turris scored the game-winning goal of the 5-4 victory – his third career playoff OT winner. Neither Senators nor Rangers have been able to win on the road in the Eastern Conference Second Round, which bodes well for the NY team’s chances to tie the series. On the other hand, teams that win Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead win a best-of-7 series about 80% of the time, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Madison Square Garden
NHL betting odds for fans who bet on hockey:
Senators +1½ (-210) 5 (-115) +150
Rangers -1½ (+175) 5 (-105) -170
Ottawa
Recent form: The Sens have led for 13:10 in the series, and for 8:59 on Saturday. Ottawa has won 70% of their last 10 games but has lost half one third of the last 12 on the road.
News: The Senators will enter tonight with a clean slate (or should that be a clean skate? Rimshot!) “There’s nothing that carries over from one game to another,” head coach Guy Boucher said. “You start back at zero everytime.” Boucher ascribes the Sens’ success to the fact that his players have developed a “team soul.” And their name is Legion?
Trends for fans who bet on hockey: Ottawa has covered the spread in 11 of the last 16 games and in two thirds of their last nine encounters with the Rangers. The NHL betting total has gone under in 16 of the Sens’ last 24 occasions visiting NYR.
New York
Recent form: The Rangers have at least four goals in four straight postseason games for the first time since they did so in six in a row in 1994, which was the last time they won the Stanley Cup. The Rangers have lost two of their last six games against Ottawa but have prevailed four of the last five times they have hosted the Sens, and are 6-1 in the last seven at MSG. Not unlike Boucher, the center says the key is to take it one game at a time.
News: head coach Alain Vigneault said that the Rangers are “going to bring it” tonight. Bring what? You know, bring it. Right, but what is “it”? It’s just what they bring, okay? Actually, what they’re going to bring is their playoff experience. For example, this would be Derek Stepan’s 22nd career postseason game in which the Rangers are on the brink of elimination.
Trends for fans who bet on hockey: The Rangers have covered in six of their eight games and four of their last five at home, but only in three of their last nine against Ottawa. The NHL betting total has gone under in two thirds of NYR’s last six home games and under in 16 of the Rangers’ last 24 home games playing against the Senators.