Bad Offense Headlines Matchup Of Rangers Vs Predators

Rangers vs. Predators, 8:00 ET

After a lot of football this past weekend - mostly NFL - we are back to having a lull in the sporting world. This week has more excitement than last week with the NBA Cup happening tonight, a boat load of great college hoops game, and, of course, the fun NHL games we get to focus on. I'm excited to get back on the ice after a few days off. Tonight, we get a game between the Rangers and Predators that I have an angle on.

The Rangers are essentially average to this point in the year with a 15-14-1 record. They are also just 8-6-0 on the road, so not substantially better than they are at home. They are not in good form at the moment, losing four of the past five games. Their only win was against the Sabres, on the road, almost a week ago. For the season, they've scored three goals per game on 30.4 shots, and allowed three goals per game on 31.6 shots. They are, unfortunately, the definition of average. They are a bit banged up at the moment with Artemi Panarin, their points leader, is day-to-day, as is their best goalie, Igor Shesterkin. It is expected that both of them should be in this game, and that obviously makes a big difference both offensively and defensively. Shesterkin is probably going to be in the net tonight. He is 10-11-1 for the season with a 3.08 goals against per game average, and has a .907 save percentage, but both numbers are good. 

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 30: A general view of the Nashville Predators jersey logo during the third period of the game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on December 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

The Predators are having a fairly disastrous start to their year with an 8-17-6 record at the moment. They are better at home, but it isn't great, with just a 5-7-2 home record. That would indicate they are substantially worse on the road (3-10-4). I wouldn't exactly describe them as good at home, but there are small signs of improvement. At the moment, they are also in a slump as they've also only won one game in their past five matchups. They've actually only one one game in their last nine with a stretch of three straight games where they lost 3-2 in overtime. The Predators offense has been terrible this season with just 2.26 goals scored per game on average. In eight of their past 10 games, they've scored just two goals. If they win, they typically score four goals per game. In fact, there is only one victory on the schedule from the Predators this year where they've won with fewer than four goals. Juuse Saros is probably in the net, and I can't say he is the problem with the team. Saros is 6-14-5, allowing just 2.74 goals per game and a .908 save percentage. 

I think there is a pretty easy way to play almost any Predator game - if you think they will lose, play under 2.5 goals. If you think they can win, play over 3.5 goals. The reality is that neither of these teams are playing very good hockey, and neither offense is looking great. The Rangers have scored more than three goals just once in the past five games. I'm going to back the under 6 in this one as I think it will end with a 3-2 final or something lower. 

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