Happy Wednesday, everyone! Hockey fans are delighted for tonight, as it marks the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers.
Both teams have earned their way into the conference finals, and if their play to this point is any indication, this should be a great series. Tonight’s game is taking place at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Who will come away with the win in this game, bringing them one step closer to the Stanley Cup Finals? As we prepare to watch this contest, we’ve come up with our best bets and player props from the action. Let’s dive in and make this game a bit more interesting!
We like the Rangers’ odds of winning tonight’s game. They might have lost two of their three matchups with the Panthers during the regular season, but after their great series win over the Carolina Hurricanes, we love their chances to start this series with a win.
Some people are concerned that the Rangers lost two games in a row in that series after going up 2-0, but we’re not worried at all. We're getting a great team at a fantastic price!
Both of these teams can score at will when given the opportunity. The Rangers had three games in their last series with four or more goals.
The Panthers scored six goals in two separate games against the Boston Bruins. The Garden is going to be rocking tonight, which should result in a high-scoring effort.
We might expect tonight to hit the over on 5.5 total goals, but that doesn’t mean that Sergei Bobrovsky will see over 30 shots on net.
Bobrovsky has been an excellent goaltender throughout the playoffs, but the defense around him has also been the story.
He hasn’t needed to play hero ball, and as a result, he hasn’t had more than 26 saves since Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Look for Bobrovsky to achieve closer to 22 saves on the night, easily hitting the under in this spot.
Bobrovsky hasn’t necessarily needed to be a hero, but Igor Shesterkin has. He had 33 saves in Game 6 against the Hurricanes, also achieving 54 in Game 2, and 45 in Game 3.
The Rangers defense has underperformed, especially when comparing them to the Panthers.
Look for Shesterkin to get peppered with shots tonight, needing to make a lot of saves to help the Rangers pull out the win.