Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers Betting Preview/Prop Picks
11 October 2022
Time: 7:30 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 12.496; NY Rangers 11.586
Dunkel Line & Total: Tampa Bay by 1; 7
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-118); 5 ½
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-101); Over
The 2022-23 NHL season got started this past weekend, but the real action is going to get heated up this week. The New York Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in a battle of Eastern Conference heavyweights.
This will be the first time in a handful of seasons that the Tampa Bay Lightning are not beginning play as the defending champions. Tampa Bay was knocked off by the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.
New York made a nice run in the playoffs a season ago, but they are looking to go much farther this season. The Rangers are one of the top betting picks to win the Stanley Cup Finals this season.
The New York Rangers are the moneyline betting favorites at -119 over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the season opener.
Lightning Loaded With Talent
It’s not easy for NHL teams to hold on to top talent in the salary cap era, but that’s exactly what Tampa Bay has been able to do. Tampa Bay comes into this season with a solid core of veterans, but they also have some terrific young talent.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was not as sharp in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he should be ready to bounce back in a big way. Vasilevskiy is one of the best goaltenders in the league, and he can shut any team down.
Tampa Bay got off to a slow start a season ago, and they will be trying to turn things around to begin the 2022-23 season.
Rangers Want to Defend
The New York Rangers struggled to find much offense in the preseason, and that might be a problem as the season moves on as well. New York does have some talent on offense, but they are also a team that would rather win games with defense.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin became one of the best players in the league a season ago, and he could be in for a big year. Shesterkin allowed just 2.07 goals against per game, and he will be ready to go in the season opener.
Artemi Panarin led the way with 96 points a season ago, and he is able to make big plays with the puck on his stick.
Lightning Spoil Season Opener For Rangers
Even though there is a ton of offensive talent on both of these rosters, don’t expect a ton of scoring in this game. Both the Lightning and Rangers also know how to defend, and there will be a great goaltender in the blue paint on each end of the ice.
There also won’t be a ton of separation between the Lightning and the Rangers on Tuesday night, as they are terrific rivals. This game is going to be decided by just one goal, and it will be the visitors that make the clutch play late.
Take the Tampa Bay Lightning moneyline as they go into New York and pick up a victory in the season opener.
Prop Picks
NY Rangers (-160) OVER 2.5 Goals
The Rangers averaged 3.05 goals per game on offense last season, which ranked No. 16 in the NHL.
With Dunkel predicting a Tampa Bay win by the score of 4-3, take the Rangers (-160) to finish OVER 2.5 goals scored against the Lightning.
Nikita Kucherov (-235) Over 0.5 Points
Kucherov had 69 points in 47 games played last season, which ranked No. 3 on the Lightning. The right wing had 32 points in 25 games played on the road.
With Dunkel predicting the final score going OVER the Vegas total, take Kucherov (-235) to finish OVER 0.5 points scored against the Rangers.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
