NHL Odds, Expert Picks, Prediction: Senators vs. Rangers (December 2)

Senators vs. Rangers Odds

The New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators are set to play the latter half of their home-and-home. The Rangers took the first battle, winning 3-1 in Ottawa. Now, the Senators will look to get their revenge in Madison Square Garden.

This will be the Rangers' first game of a back-to-back and it is uncertain who is going to start in goal since Jaroslav Halak played excellent in the first meeting, making 34 saves on 35 shots.

The Senators haven't announced their starting goalie yet either, Cam Talbot had a strong game despite the loss, but there is also a chance they give Anton Forsberg the nod.

The Rangers are looking to turn things around and start a winning streak of their own. Home ice hasn't been much of an advantage for them lately, but they are coming back with a little bit of momentum on their side.

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Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators haven't lived up to expectations thus far into the season. A lot of the discussion this summer was that they had "won" the offseason by bringing in Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. Those two have been fine to this point, but haven't necessarily exceeded expectations either.

As of late, the Senators have had a hard time scoring goals. In their past six games, they have only scored a combined 12 goals. Ottawa actually outplayed the Rangers on Wednesday night and had 3.68 expected goals, but were only able to score once.

Defensively speaking, the Senators haven't been perfect, but did do a solid job shutting down the Rangers. The Senators are allowing 3.36 goals against per game, but their goaltending has been relatively consistent. Talbot enters this game with a .918 save percentage and a 2.57 goals against average. Forsberg's numbers aren't as good. He's sporting a .904 save percentage with a 3.43 goals against average.

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers have faced a ton of criticism as a result of their inconsistency.  Entering the season, the Rangers were one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but there have been a lot of questions through the first quarter of the season. That being said, they may be on the verge of turning things around.

The Rangers' offense has been a little better over the past three games, scoring a combined nine goals. However, they really need their best players to step up. The Rangers rely on their core four to carry this team offensively.

Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin each have 25 points on the season and Chris Kreider is just a little bit behind them with 20 of his own.

Even though it might not feel like it lately, the Rangers are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL — despite having all of these offensively gifted players. They have the ninth-best goals against average and are allowing just 2.79 goals against each game.

I expect Gerard Gallant to start Igor Shesterkin, but he may decide to stick with the hot hand and go with Halak.

Senators vs. Rangers Pick

The New York Rangers were finally able to put together a complete, sixty-minute effort for the first time in a long time and that should give this team the energy boost they have been craving.

The Senators haven't been a strong team this year and this is a game the Rangers need to win on home ice. Dating back to last season, the Rangers have won the past four matchups between these two teams and I think they need to make a statement in this game to show last year wasn't a fluke.

With the Senators' offense struggling, I don't see them outscoring the Rangers' talented group of forwards. I like New York to win this in regulation.

Pick: New York Rangers 3-way (-110)