Washington Capitals at New York Rangers odds, picks and predictions
The Washington Capitals (20-14-6) and New York Rangers (26-13-2) meet Sunday in Metropolitan Division action. The Madison Square Garden matinee is slated for a 1 p.m. ET (NHL Network) start time. Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Capitals vs. Rangersodds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Sunday's game is the back half of 2 games in as many days for the Caps and Blueshirts. On Saturday, Washington earned a come-from-behind 3-2 triumph in D.C.
The Capitals' win Saturday marked just their 3rd since Dec. 21. In other games since that date, Washington had allowed 4.11 goals per contest.
New York heads into Sunday's tilt winless across its last 4 games (0-3-1). But a positive for the Rangers: In games on no rest interval they are 6-0-0.
Stream the NHL all season on ESPN+, with your team's out-of-market games, exclusive games, originals and more. Get ESPN+ now!
Capitals at Rangers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Capitals +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Rangers -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Capitals +1.5 (-135) | Rangers -1.5 (+110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Capitals at Rangers projected goalies
Darcy Kuemper (10-10-2, 3.27 GAA, .891 SV%) vs. Igor Shesterkin (16-10-0, 2.90 GAA, .901 SV%)
Kuemper last played on Thursday, allowing 4 goals on 23 shots against the Seattle Kraken. His start 2 turns back was solid, but the veteran netminder still owns a lackluster .870 SV% over his last 6 games.
Shesterkin started Thursday’s game and allowed 4 goals on 19 shots. He owns a dodgy .828 SV% over his last 4 starts.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
Capitals at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 5, Capitals 2
Moneyline
PASS and look for better value on the puck line.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Rangers were the play in this corner Saturday, but an expected higher-scoring game did not develop and New York coughed up a 2-1 advantage over the final frame.
The analysis for Game 2 is much the same, though. New York had a positive Cordi-for percentage for a 6th straight game. It has had way better puck-possession analytics of late than it does goals-for and goals-against totals. On Saturday, Washington was better in generating high-danger looks in 5-on-5 play. But the Caps haven't shown much consistency in that area
Prior to Saturday, each of the last 6 games in this series had been decided by multiple goals (4 New York wins, 2 Washington wins). Five of those 6 games had a margin of 3-plus goals.
Since Dec. 14, the Caps have 6 wins. All 6 have been of the 1-goal variety. That same month-long stretch has seen Washington lose 9 games; 6 of those (including the last 3) have been by multiple goals.
In that New York 6-0-0 second-day mark referenced above, the Blueshirts have averaged 4.67 goals while allowing 2.50.
TAKE THE RANGERS -1.5 (+110).
Over/Under
The Under cashed in Saturday's game. The Over went 4-0-1 across the previous 5 Washington-New York battles. Both sides have played in high scoring games on zero-day rest.
TAKE THE OVER 6 (-110).
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X andlike us on Facebook.