NY Rangers vs Ottawa Senators Pick
On Monday night, the Ottawa Senators will try to do what most was thought to have been impossible – eliminate the top seeded New York Rangers from the Stanley Cup playoffs. In a series dominated by goaltending, no one could have expected that it would be the Senators goaltender that would have been the one stealing games.
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NY Rangers at Ottawa Senators
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, April 23, 2012
Where: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario
Broadcast: CBC, NBCSN, RDS, MSG
Senators lead series 3-2
Rangers vs. Senators Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Rangers -1 ½ (+270)
Moneyline: Rangers -114: Senators +103
Over/Under: 5 goals
But the incredible fact is that Craig Anderson is outplaying Henrik Lundqvist through five games.
The Rangers feel that they have been playing well and need to stay the course hoping that Craig Anderson will experience a lapse. If Game 5 is any indication, the Rangers could be waiting a long time! New York fired 41 shots at the Ottawa net minder but was unable to notch the necessary tally to at least take the game into overtime.
Scoring has been a major issue for New York in the last five games of the series in particular. Marion Gaborik has failed to score in the last four games and players like Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan have yet to register a point in the series thus far. Adding to the concern for the Rangers is the fact that their most prolific producer thus far Brian Boyle (three goals in the series so far) is highly questionable after sustaining a concussion in Game 5.
Henrik Lundqvist has done his part – he has a 1.78 goals against average and a .945 save percentage so far in the playoffs. But without offense, Lundqvist`s stellar play could very well be wasted. [ad-4437448]
Unlike the Rangers, the Senators` best player is finally shrugging off the cobwebs and is looking like a difference maker. Jason Spezza`s problem in the first four games of the series was almost solely due to his lack of shots on goal – just nine in the first four games. In Game 5 he registered five shots and scored Ottawa`s only two goals. Confidence is a funny thing and it appears as though Spezza has a boat load of it going into Game 6.
Concussions have played a major role in the series thus far but unlike the Rangers the Senators will likely get a boost from a player returning from a concussion. Emotional leader Daniel Alfredsson is “hopeful” to play Monday night after sitting out a pair.
Make no mistake about it – Craig Anderson has been the story of the series thus far. He has a 1.79 goals against average in the five games with a .943 save percentage. Anderson is hot and we have already seen what a hot goaltender can do for a team in the playoffs – Pekka Rinne, Jonathan Quick and Brian Elliot to name a few!
Betting Prediction: The New York Rangers are 7-2 in the last 9 meetings in Ottawa and the road team is 20-7 in the last 27 meetings.
We have already seen one #1 seed get knocked out in this year’s playoffs and it appears as though another is on the verge. The Rangers will certainly miss spark plug Brian Boyle on Monday night while the Sens will absolutely benefit from the return of Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa is better than advertised and the Rangers don’t appear as good as advertised. It all adds up to an early Rangers exit!
Pick: Ottawa Senators +103
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