The NHL season is officially here, and we kick off North American action with an Eastern Conference Finals rematch. Both Tampa Bay and New York have plenty of offensive talent, but our NHL betting picks believe the goalies will make a statement early.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers are set to kick off their 2022-23 NHL campaign in what is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
The season might be different, but the story remains the same as this battle features the league’s two best goaltenders — Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa Bay and last year’s Vezina trophy winner, Igor Shesterkin for New York.
Will the goalies steal the show once again? Find out in our NHL betting picks and predictions for Lightning vs. Rangers on October 11.
The season opener is always an exciting time for the players, the fans, and everyone involved in the game of hockey. But no matter how many years of experience one may have, there will always be some nerves for the first game.
Both of these teams have very high expectations coming into this season — especially the New York Rangers — so you can expect to see some sort of sloppy play to start this game off. That being said, the one thing that both sides have in common and the variable that remains constant is their goaltending.
Andrei Vasilevskiy has arguably been the best goalie in the NHL for the past five-plus seasons, but there might just be a new sheriff in town as Igor Shesterkin is gunning for that crown.
Last season, Shesterkin put up some out-of-this-world numbers as he skated to a .935 SV% and a 2.07 GAA. Vasilevskiy wasn’t too shabby himself, posting .916 SV% and a 2.49 GAA. I’m expecting both netminders to look sharp the moment the puck drops.
Dating back to the playoff series between these two, there were only four goals scored in the first period of the last five combined games. It is evident both netminders are hard to beat and I expect that to remain constant in this matchup.
The first period will be a bit jittery and Madison Square Garden will be buzzing. I don’t expect to see much goal scoring throughout the whole game, but I am focusing on the opening 20 minutes. I love the Under in the first period and I'll be riding with it for my best bet.
My best bet: First period Under 1.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
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The Rangers were one of the best teams in the NHL last season when it came to home-ice records. They went 27-10-4 at the world's most famous arena and I don’t see them having any type of regression.
The Lightning only played against New York one time last season on the road — getting shut out 4-0. Tampa didn’t have a very busy offseason, but it did see some of its key players depart in Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh. It’s hard to not consider the Bolts as a scary team because of everything that they have accomplished over the past three seasons, but this year’s team might not be as successful.
The Rangers come into this game with a heavy chip on their shoulder considering the fact that this same Lightning team ended their magical Stanley Cup run last June. There has been a lot of talk throughout this offseason on what New York's standards and expectations should be, and for the first time in a long time, this team will have a target on its back. Igor Shesterkin would like to prove that last season was in fact not a fluke and I can always trust him to perform well on home ice. I think the Rangers come out with a win on opening night.
Whenever these teams get together, taking the Under always seems like the most reasonable choice.
If you look on paper, you will see a ton of highly skilled players on both teams, but the skill in the blue paint truly outweighs any of the skill on the offensive side of the puck.
Last season, these were two of the Top 10 teams in the league when it came to goals against averages. The Rangers finished second, only giving up 2.49 goals against per game, while the Lightning finished sixth, allowing just 2.78 per game.
I don’t even want to overthink this one, it’s Vasilevskiy against Shesterkin, how could you not love the Under?
The Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams in New York. Find more NHL betting trends for Lightning vs Rangers.
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