Pens vs Rangers Hockey Odds
The New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins will head over to Madison Square Garden as their series shifts to New York for Game 3 on Monday. The Rangers laid an egg in Game 2 on Sunday, and while the schedule played a major factor in their performance, they’ll need to get up for this one on the second night of this back-to-back.
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Eastern Conference semifinal Game 3
Pittsburgh Penguins (5-3) at New York Rangers (5-4)
Date: Monday, May 5, 2014
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden
City: New York, New York
O/U Odds: 5
Money Line: New York-110, Pittsburgh -110
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Fatigue was certainly an issue for the Rangers on Sunday, but they’ll have little time to get rested up for this one, with the team taking a flight back to New York late Sunday for a Monday night game against the Penguins, who entered the series rested after dispatching of the Blue Jackets in six games, while the Rangers needed seven to get by the Flyers, and now get set to play their fifth game in seven days.
Even still, the Rangers have to be happy to come out of Pittsburgh with a 1-1 tie, given that they played as poorly as they did in Game 2. Now they have a chance to retake the series lead on their home court, having wrestled home ice advantage away from the Penguins.
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Derick Brassard was the hero for the Rangers in Game 1, scoring in overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 win on Friday, the day after the team beat the Flyers 2-1 to win that game.
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Sunday’s Game 2 didn’t go quite as well, as a fatigued Rangers side was outshot 35-22, putting little pressure on Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who easily picked up his seventh career postseason shutout.
With the loss, the Rangers have now dropped 13 consecutive playoff games when leading in a series, something that gave them significant problems in their series with the Flyers. Head coach Alain Vigneault, however, denied that his team is dealing with fatigue, noting the strong effort of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 32 saves in the contest to keep the Rangers in it.
Kris Letang scored the big goal for the Penguins in Game 2, getting the team on the board in the second period with his 15th career postseason tally, tying him with Larry Murphy for the franchise record among defenseman.
Things could be different in this one, as Fleury has a 4.54 GAA in his last three games at Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers have won seven of their last nine in the postseason.
While the schedule-makers haven’t done the Rangers any favors in these playoffs, they are the superior team in this matchup with a flawed Penguins team. Now, coming off a game in which they didn’t show much, expect the team to come up with a better effort in this one.
The Rangers are 5-1 in their last six home games.
The play: New York -110
