posted April 29, 2008 at 13:14 in NHL Free Picks

Pittsburgh Penguins (47-27-8) vs. New York Rangers (42-27-13)

Tuesday, April 29th --- Madison Square Garden, NYC --- 7:00pm EST

NHL Betting Line: NYR -150

I’ve been saying all along that the difference between betting on the Rangers and betting on the Penguins is veteran experience. You don’t see the Rangers becoming too worried about their somewhat stunning two-game deficit to the riley Penguins. You just don’t see it in them. The problem is that the “no worries” attitude sometimes translates into stunning losses, like the 6-5, five-goal-from-behind victory the Habs notched over the Rangers in mid-season. So that begs the question: are the Rangers lazy?

With only 2.60 goals per game you might think so. Surely a team with so much offensive depth, two 70+ point getters and the impossible Jaromir Jagr would be able to notch more goals than that. But effort isn’t the problem, as their 31.45 shots points out. It’s their intense focus on defense.

The Rangers only allow 2.43 goals per game on 25.90 shots, so much of their time is spent playing systematic hockey. They play a smart box-style defense that cuts out quality shots. Even in their shutout loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, a 2-0 triumph by the young ones, the Rangers played very strong defense. And couple that with the offensive output that generated four goals on Friday in their 5-4 loss, there’s still reason for their betting contractors to have hope.

Another glaring reason is the 5-0 SU record that the Rangers have over the Penguins when playing in the confines of the legendary Madison Square Gardens. Strangely enough, the home team has gone 9-1 SU when these two teams have played this season. That bodes well for the Penguins as they have home ice advantage in this series, but it doesn’t forecast a win for tonight. The Rangers won that lone away victory back in November in a 4-3 nail biter.

The Rangers are also 9-4 SU in their last 13 home games and much of that is because of the rabid New York fans who will be blood drunk for a playoff victory over Crosby. The Kid, however, has a knack for coming up big when it counts.

Also, their regular season shots against were low, the Rangers have pumped in 31.5 shots per game throughout these playoffs while allowing the third fewest shots against at 25.9. Overall, the Rangers are 25-13-3 SU at home and are 30-25 SU as favorites this season.

The Rangers have plenty of reason to step up large in this game and it’s a must-win situation because this Rangers team hasn’t shown a penchant for coming from behind too often. If Pittsburgh get up in this game early, the Rangers will have a tough time winning. But that won’t happen with Jaromir returning home. The Rangers have the second best home defense in the entire NHL with 2.2 goals against at MSG.

That’s reason enough for you to cling to hope and bet on the Rangers in tonight’s playoff game. Don’t be surprised if Henrik Lundqvist answers back when a shutout of his own tonight.

NHL Betting Free Picks: NYR -150 (UNDER)

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