Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers Betting Picks

The Rangers are nearly an auto fade when playing at home. They are a staggeringly bad 5-14 at Madison Square Garden, with six shutout losses on home ice. New York just blew a third-period lead in their last home game, losing 3-2 in overtime to Utah this past Monday. Worse, the Rangers lost their star goalie, Igor Shesterkin, to a lower-body injury. Shesterkin has been placed on injured reserve. Star defenseman Adam Fox is also out for New York. The Rangers have scored two or fewer goals in 10 of their last 15 games. They rank 29th in scoring and 28th in shots on goal. Buffalo is one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Sabres are 10-1 in their last 11 games. They have scored at least three goals in 12 of their past 13 games. Take the Sabres.

This is an excellent buy-low spot on the Rangers. New York opened its season with a disappointing 3-0 home loss to Pittsburgh. The Sabres have yet to play a regular-season game. They concluded preseason action by losing three of their last four games. Buffalo last made the NHL playoffs during the 2010–11 season. That is the longest playoff drought in NHL history. The Rangers outperformed the Sabres last season, and they should do so again this season. New York has far more offense than it showed against the Penguins. The Sabres were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season, tied for 29th in goals allowed. The Rangers have a clear goalie edge with Igor Shesterkin confirmed in net. He is 10-3-2 in 15 games against Buffalo, with a 2.59 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. Alex Lyon is likely to be in goal for the Sabres. Lyon had a 2.89 goals against average and a .894 save percentage last season. Take the Rangers. 

New York has a winning road record and has won three of four. The defense is sixth in the NHL in penalty killing and 12th in save percentage (.904). They have garnered at least one point in six of their last seven road contests (4-1-2). Last place Buffalo's defense is 19th in penalty killing, 28th in goals surrendered (3.41 per game), and 29th in save percentage (.893). These teams met at this arena in December and the Rangers won, 3-2, with New York getting at least one point (13-2-3) in 16 of the last 18 meetings. Play New York. 

Both teams have been slumping, but it's an opportunity for New York to get a win against Buffalo, which has lost seven in a row after suffering a 6-5 shootout defeat to Detroit on Monday. The Rangers have won 12 of 17 meetings with the Sabres, who have lost six straight home games and seven of eight overall against the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have won seven of 12 road contests this season and Buffalo is 0-5 against teams with winning road records. Igor Shesterkin is expected in net for New York and he has stopped 50 of 54 shots his past two games, including a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh and a 2-1 loss to Chicago on Monday. Shesterkin has a 2.95 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage this season. Take the Rangers.