League leaders, the Dallas Stars, have suffered a string of losses on the road. But they must continue marching forward as they meet the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The Rangers, meanwhile, have returned home after dropping two in a three-game road trip. They’ll be hoping that the familiar confines of MSG will help them get back on the win column.
Will the Stars find their groove, or will the Rangers give the league’s best a rude welcome?
Valeri Nichushkin had two goals, while Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza added one each. But five goals weren’t enough for the Dallas Stars, losing 6-5 to the New York Islanders on Sunday. The Stars have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, yet they sit atop the league with 60 points. But they’ll need to get back into the win column fast as the Washington Capitals are breathing behind their necks with 59 points.
[sc:NHL240 ]The Stars will have a favorable matchup against the reeling New York Rangers. New York has lost five of their last seven, giving up a whopping 4.14 goals per game. Facing a patchy defense should have Dallas’ offensive stars an opportunity to shine.
Sharp has been spectacular recently, currently riding an eight-game point streak (six goals and six assists). He’s been the playmaker that Dallas needed to compliment the dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Benn leads the team with 24 goals and 52 points this season, while Seguin is second on the team with 23 goals.
Benn and Seguin may be able to light the lamp against the Rangers’ struggling goaltending, especially with plenty of threats on the ice. The aforementioned Spezza is currently on a four-game point streak (one goal and five assists), and should be a strong playmaker on the ice.
Despite a high-flying offense, Dallas will continue to struggle if they can’t sort out their awful goaltending on the road. The Stars have allowed 4.5 goals per game in their last four on the road, all losses. Antti Niemi was between the pipes in the first three of those games, then Kari Lehtonen allowed six huge goals in a loss to the Islanders on Sunday. Either of the two goalies will likely struggle prtecting the net against a New York offense that’s averaging 4.5 goals in their last four home games.
The Stars have lost their last four games on the road.
Betting on the New York Rangers (21-14-4)
The New York Rangers are in deep trouble now after dropping 10 of their last 14 games, but they’ve mostly just struggled on the road. Of their four wins during that stretch, three have come on home ice. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist personifies the Rangers’ struggles away from MSG. He’s 6-8 on the road, but is a stellar 11-3-1 with a 2.20 GAA along with two shutouts in the Garden.
Lundqvist will need to be at the top of his game if he is to help the Rangers get a win against visiting Dallas. The Stars have the best offense in the league, scoring 3.49 goals per game this season. Lundqvist has done pretty well in his last six games against Dallas, going 4-2 with a 2.00 GAA. Three of those were at home, with the Rangers going 2-1.
Offense won’t be much of a problem for the Rangers, especially against a Dallas defense that has struggled on the road. The Rangers have scored three or more goals in their last four home games. Mats Zuccarello has been one hell of a player in the Big Apple, as he has 21 points (10 goals and 21 assists) in 20 home starts thus far this season. Derick Brassard has also been very good with 22 points (10 goals and 12 assists).
If the Rangers were to score aplenty against Dallas, then they may need star forward Rick Nash to light the lamp. Nash has been pretty good against the Stars in his career, scoring 20 goals and adding nine helpers in 37 matchups. He’s been solid recently as well with two goals in his last three games.
Getting the puck to Nash will be rather easy for the Rangers. They’ve shown some unselfish hockey by having nine players with 10 or more assists this season. The top three scorers, Zuccarello, Brassard and Nash, are in the top four on the team in assists, combining for 44 helpers. Meanwhile, Defenseman Keith Yandle leads the Rangers with a team-high 10 assists. Expect the Rangers to spread out their offense using their abundance of playmakers.
The total has gone under in five of the last six matchups between the Rangers and Stars.
Writer’s Prediction
The Stars fire on all cylinders as they get a big win at New York. Create a betting account now and get into all the intense hockey action.
