NHL Hockey Betting - New York Rangers

NHL Betting 2007 – New York Rangers
Manager: Tom Renney
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Last Season:40-30-10 (3rd Atlantic, 6th Eastern Conference)
2008 Predication: 2nd Eastern Conference

Preseason Odds to win Stanley Cup: +900

The Rangers paid close attention to their playoff series loss to Buffalo last year. Chris Drury was the difference maker in that series. So what did they do? They signed him to a lucrative contract, while also signing Scott Gomez away from the New Jersey Devils. With Jaromir Jagr, Sean Avery and Branden Shanahan all returning to a team that has finally found an elite goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist, can the Rangers return to the glory of the Messier days?

We don’t have to discuss how nutty the offense for New York will be because the Rangers will have two solid scoring lines anchored by Gomez and Drury. The real question is if the defense can step up. Michal Rozasival is the best defenseman they have, and was excellent in point production with 40 points last season. Marc Staal (of the Staal family) stands at 6-foot-4 and 204 pounds and will make his blue debut this season. The defense is good, but not great.

But that doesn’t’ matter too much when you have Henrik Lundqvist in net. During the second half of the season he had a 1.89 GAA and a .929 save percentage which vaulted him in to elite status. He is cool, calm and confident in the crease. The Rangers have Al Montoya waiting in the wings, but the youngster can certainly take another season in the AHL to grow as Lundqvist begins his Vezina campaign. He was a surprise runner-up last season.

The Rangers are a definite favorite to win the Eastern Conference, and the Stanley Cup as well. As with any new team, chemistry will be an issue. Jaromir Jagr has been outstanding for his entire career, but he has had trouble clicking with line mates in terms of  chemistry. The Rangers are hoping that their investment in Gomez and Drury will lead to some point producing chemistry, while the NHL betting investors will be hoping it leads the Rangers to the Stanley Cup.

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Official Website: www.newyorkrangers.com