The Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been this deep into minus money on the road in more than a year, but they have owned Madison Square Garden ice for years.
The Penguins are a consensus -200 road favorite on the NHL odds while the New York Rangers come back at +165 with a 6.0 total for Wednesday’s matchup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The OddsShark NHL Database shows this could be the lowest moneyline value the Penguins have offered on the road since February 2017, but they are 8-2 in their last 10 away games against the Rangers. Pittsburgh also has an 8-2 mark in its last 10 games as a road favorite of -180 to -500. The Rangers are 4-6 in their last 10 games as an underdog at home.
The main question with the Penguins, who are 40-26-4 as they push to finish first in the Metropolitan Division, is the tautness of their defensive zone coverage in front of their goaltender. Pittsburgh also plays the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and the total has gone over in the Penguins’ last five games when they were slated to play the following day.
Crosby has had success (81 points in 61 games) against the Rangers over the years, while center Evgeni Malkin has eight points in his last four games.
Starting goalie Matt Murray (concussion) is traveling with the Penguins but is doubtful to play Wednesday, leaving the netminding to either Casey DeSmith or Tristan Jarry. Forward Bryan Rust (concussion) is also sidelined.
The Rangers, 31-32-7 on the year, are 4-2-1 since the NHL trade deadline, when they unloaded expensive veterans to begin retooling. Center Ryan Spooner has two goals and 13 points in eight games since coming south from Boston in the Rick Nash trade. However, along with having struggled at home against Pittsburgh, the Rangers are 2-5 in their last seven games at MSG, including 0-5 against teams presently in the NHL playoff pack.
The X-factor for New York is young goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who is 2-2 in five games with a 2.73 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. Georgiev had a 41-save winning effort against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
The total has gone under in five of Pittsburgh’s last seven games in March as a road favorite. The total has also gone under in six of Pittsburgh’s last seven road games as a favorite of -180 to -500 on the moneyline. However, the total has gone over in seven of the Rangers’ last 10 games as an underdog at home.
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