New York Rangers Travel to Pittsburgh to Face the Penguins Saturday

The New York Rangers will be traveling to the PPG Paints Arena on Saturday afternoon to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in a Metropolitan Division matchup. These teams will kick off their four-game season series here as the Rangers are third in the division (32-13-5, 69 points) while the Penguins are second (31-13-8, 70 points).  

These teams are two of the better teams in all of the Eastern Conference, and it should be entertaining to see Sydney Crosby and Jake Guentzel taking on Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. 

Let’s dive into both franchises to determine where we should bet in this game. 

Young Players Stepping Up

The Rangers have been doing decently well on the offensive side of the ice as they are scoring 2.94 goals on 28.9 shots per game.

Left winger Artemi Panarin is leading them as he has recorded 55 points (14 goals, 41 assists) this season and has recorded six points in his last four games. They also have left winger Chris Kreider, who is tied for second in the sport, with 33 goals this season to help compliment the offense. 

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has been playing incredibly well as he is 24-5-3 so far, is second in the NHL with 2.01 goals against, and is leading the sport with a .939 save percentage. He has three shutouts this season. 

He has been one of the best goalies in this sport and is dominating this season. The Rangers are allowing 2.50 goals per game as a whole this season on 32 shots allowed per game. 

They have played well when shortened via penalty as they have killed 83.2 percent of power plays against them. 

Offense Needs to Play Well

The Penguins’ offense has been doing well as they are averaging 3.29 goals on 34.8 shots per game this season. 

The offense has been centered around left winger Jake Guentzel this season as he has 52 points (25 goals, 27 assists) so far and has scored a point in four of the last five games. The combination of him and Crosby should do well in this matchup.   

Tristan Jarry has been a solid goalie for the Penguins as he is 25-10-6 with 2.29 goals allowed and a .922 save percentage this season. 

Pittsburgh is giving up 2.60 goals per game so far this season on 30.2 shots allowed. They have dominated at killing penalties at 86.5 percent.  

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Predictions

These are two of the better teams in the league, but the Rangers should be able to cover the puck line on the road in this game. 

Both teams seem to be evenly matched, so getting +1.5 appears to be a steal here. However, the Rangers do not have very high total goals this season as in their previous three games, there have been 3.7 total goals per game. 

Shesterkin and Jarry are two of the premier goals so go with the New York Rangers +1.5 and the under to hit in this game.  

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.