PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* NHL Game of the Week (Total) >> Back to Back WINNERS!
(NHL) NY Rangers vs. Detroit,
03/12/2017 3:00 PM, Score: 4 - 1
Total: 5.50 | 115.00 Over
Result: Win
Total: 5.50 | 115.00 Over
Result: Win
The set-up: The 43-23-2 New York Rangers lead the Eastern Conference wild-card standings by a wide margin, so the news that goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will miss two-to-three weeks with a strained hip muscle is not all that bad. Antti Raanta takes over the No. 1 role in net and except for wins, his numbers are better than Lundqvist's. Raanta is 13-6-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .922 save percentage, while Lundqvist is 30-19-2, 2.65 GAA and .913 save percentage. New York completes a four-game road trip Sunday, playing at the 26-29-11 Detroit Red Wings,
NY Rangers: "I don't try to be Hank, I just try to be myself," Raanta told reporters. "I know that every time when I play, it's always a big thing for me to show what I can do. That's what I try to do right now."Raanta is well-aware that the Rangers own the NHL's best road record at 24-9-0 and his career numbers are solid. Raanta is 44-21-7 with a 2.34 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 87 career contests (71 starts).
Detroit: The Red Wings have been to the playoffs in each of the previous 25 seasons but that streak will end this year. However, Detroit is coming off perhaps its best game of the season. Jimmy Howard returned to make 24 saves in Friday's 4-2 victory over Chicago, his first game since sustaining a knee injury on Dec. 20. "I was a little jumpy at first. I think it was the nerves. But I was able to settle down,'' Howard told reporters. "As soon as I had some pucks stick to me the last minute of the first period, I felt more and more at home out there." Captain Henrik Zetterberg (team bests of 55 points and 41 assists) recorded a pair of assists Friday for his sixth two-point performance in the last nine contests and has registered at least one point in eight games during that span.
The pick: The Rangers have been one of the league's highest scoring teams all year but lately, New York has scored more than three goals in just two of its last 13 games. Detroit averages just 2.39 GPG (ranks 26th of 30 teams), so the under is a 10* play in this one.
NY Rangers: "I don't try to be Hank, I just try to be myself," Raanta told reporters. "I know that every time when I play, it's always a big thing for me to show what I can do. That's what I try to do right now."Raanta is well-aware that the Rangers own the NHL's best road record at 24-9-0 and his career numbers are solid. Raanta is 44-21-7 with a 2.34 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 87 career contests (71 starts).
Detroit: The Red Wings have been to the playoffs in each of the previous 25 seasons but that streak will end this year. However, Detroit is coming off perhaps its best game of the season. Jimmy Howard returned to make 24 saves in Friday's 4-2 victory over Chicago, his first game since sustaining a knee injury on Dec. 20. "I was a little jumpy at first. I think it was the nerves. But I was able to settle down,'' Howard told reporters. "As soon as I had some pucks stick to me the last minute of the first period, I felt more and more at home out there." Captain Henrik Zetterberg (team bests of 55 points and 41 assists) recorded a pair of assists Friday for his sixth two-point performance in the last nine contests and has registered at least one point in eight games during that span.
The pick: The Rangers have been one of the league's highest scoring teams all year but lately, New York has scored more than three goals in just two of its last 13 games. Detroit averages just 2.39 GPG (ranks 26th of 30 teams), so the under is a 10* play in this one.
