Boston Bruins vs New York Rangers Prediction, 2/26/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Bruins vs New York Rangers

Date: Friday, February 26, 2021

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-175) Rangers (+145)

Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers (6-8-3) host the Boston Bruins (11-3-2) at Madison Square Garden on Friday. The Rangers open this contest at +145 while the Bruins are coming in at -175. The total is set at 5.5.

The Bruins came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 7-3 win over the Flyers in their previous outing. The Bruins had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in the victory. In the game, they earned a goal on 7 out of the 35 shots they put on goal. In addition, they had 3 chances with the advantage and were able to net 1 goal. Boston recorded 6 mins in the box for this contest. The Corsi for the Bruins was 53 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 45 meaning they had a Corsi rate of 54.1%. Their Fenwick came in at 46 and the Fenwick against finished at 31, giving them a Fenwick rate of 59.7%. They compiled 22 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 20 attempts to gain puck control. Their offensive zone starts sat at 65.4% and they had a PDO of 107.5 for this matchup.

Boston Bruins opponents have amassed 57 power play tries (18th in the league) and have scored 7 goals in those chances. The Bruins have had 401 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .910. Boston has tried 505 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 9.7%. When playing at even strength, the Bruins have conceded 29 goals while earning 34 as an offensive unit. Boston comes into the game with 50 power play chances and they have notched 15 goals out of those tries, earning them a percentage of 30.00%. For the current campaign, they have recorded 24 points and their points percentage comes in at .750. With regard to their goal scoring prowess, the Boston Bruins have racked up 49 goals (20th in the National Hockey League) over the course of the season and have conceded 36.

The man protecting the net in this game is Jaroslav Halak. The opposition has notched 1,249 goals versus Halak in his pro hockey career and his goals against average is 2.47. Halak has taken the ice for 526 games over the course of his hockey career. His save percentage is .917 during his 30,324 minutes in the crease. He has accumulated a mark of 276-168-59 and was named the starter in 490 games. In his career, Halak has tallied 278 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .567. Halak has seen 14,970 shots taken against him and has recorded 13,721 saves.

Their last time out, New York played the Flyers in a game where the Rangers ended up taking the loss by a final of 4-3. They had 5 power play opportunities in this game and converted 2 out of those attempts. The Rangers netted 3 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they took. Their PDO was 97 and their oZS percentage was 50.0%. New York had a 44.4% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game New York played and it shows us they played like an average team. Their Fenwick rate was 45.8% with a Fenwick of 27 and the Flyers having a 32 Fenwick.

The Rangers have 32 goals at even strength and 10 goals (23rd in hockey) while on the power play. New York has taken 533 shots (17th in the league) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 7.88%, while allowing the opposition 494 shots. On the season, the New York Rangers have tallied 42 goals, 15 points, as well as a points percentage of .441. They have a total of 67 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play rate of 14.93%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 84.38% on their opponents 64 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage sits at 90.9%. They have granted a total of 45 goals to be scored by of a combination of 35 goals at even strength and 10 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the ice you are likely to see Igor Shesterkin in net. Shesterkin has earned a career mark of 14-8-1 and has played in 24 games. Shesterkin's quality start rate comes out to 65.2% and he has 15 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has gathered 702 stops out of the 758 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .926. Opponents are averaging 2.46 goals/game and he has yielded 56 goals overall. He has been a starter 23 games and has played 1,368 mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Boston (-175)

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