Headlines about poor offense in the duel between Rangers and Predators

Rangers vs. Predators, 8 a.m. ET

PublishedDecember 17, 2024, 10:05 am EST|UpdatedDecember 17, 2024, 10:05 am EST

• Facebook
• Twitter
• e-mail
• Copy link

Rangers vs. Predators, 8 a.m. ET

After a lot of football last weekend – especially NFL – calm has returned to the sports world. This week is more exciting than last week with the NBA Cup taking place tonight, lots of great college basketball games and of course the fun NHL games to focus on. I’m looking forward to getting back on the ice after a few days off. Tonight we get a game between the Rangers and the Predators that I have my eye on.

With a record of 15-14-1, the Rangers are essentially average at this point in the year. Even away from home they are only 8-6-0, so not significantly better than at home. They are not in good form at the moment and have lost four of their last five games. Their only win came almost a week ago on the road against the Sabres. This season they have scored three goals per game on 30.4 shots and allowed three goals per game on 31.6 shots. Unfortunately, they are the definition of average. They are a bit banged up at the moment with Artemi Panarin, their league leader, out on a day-to-day basis, as is their best goalkeeper, Igor Shesterkin. Both are expected to be in this game and that obviously makes a big difference both offensively and defensively. Shesterkin will likely end up in the net tonight. He has a 10-11-1 record this season with a 3.08 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, but both numbers are good.

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 30: A general view of the Nashville Predators jersey logo during the third period of play against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on December 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

The Predators have had a pretty disastrous start to the year with a current record of 8-17-6. They’re better at home, but with a home record of just 5-7-2, it’s not great. That would mean that they perform significantly worse on the road (3-10-4). I wouldn’t exactly call them good at home, but there are small signs of improvement. They are also in a crisis at the moment, having also only won one game in their last five meetings. In fact, they have only played one game in their last nine games, including three straight games in which they lost 3-2 in overtime. The Predators’ offense has been terrible this season, averaging just 2.26 goals scored per game. They have scored just two goals in eight of their last ten games. When they win, they usually score four goals per game. In fact, the Predators have only had one win this year where they won by fewer than four goals. Juuse Saros is probably in net and I can’t say he’s the problem in the team. Saros has a record of 6-14-5, allowing just 2.74 goals per game and a save percentage of .908.

I think there’s a pretty simple way to play almost every Predator game: if you think they’re going to lose, play by less than 2.5 goals. If you think they can win, play more than 3.5 goals. The reality is that none of these teams are playing very good hockey and neither offense looks great. The Rangers have only scored more than three goals once in their last five games. I will be betting on the under 6s in this game as I think it will end in a 3-2 final or less.

For more sports betting information and games, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024