- Matchup: Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers
- Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
- Broadcast: ESPN+
- Betting Odds: Lightning (-135) Rangers (+120)
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The New York Rangers, who finished last season at 34-39-9, are set to clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who boasted a record of 50-26-6, at Madison Square Garden this Thursday. The betting line positions the Lightning at -135, while the Rangers stand at +120. The total points over/under is set at 6.
The Tampa Bay Lightning faced a challenging game last time, suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Canadiens. In that match, Tampa was assessed 4 penalty minutes and struggled offensively, achieving only 1 goal from 3 power play attempts. Overall, they managed just 1 goal from 29 shots.
At even strength last season, the Lightning allowed 184 goals while netting 235. Their opponents generated 258 power play opportunities, ranking third in the league, capitalizing on 45 of those chances. Offensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored 286 goals, placing fourth in the NHL, while allowing 229 goals against. With 2,305 shots taken, their shooting percentage stood at 12.4%. The team finished with 106 points, achieving a points percentage of .646. They faced a total of 2,188 shots, culminating in a save percentage of .895. On 246 power play opportunities, Tampa Bay scored 51 goals, resulting in a success rate of 20.73%.
Guarding the net for Tampa is Andrei Vasilevskiy. Over his NHL career, Vasilevskiy has participated in 598 games, recording a solid mark of 370 wins, 178 losses, and 39 overtime/shootout losses. He sports a goals-against average of 2.49, having faced 17,589 shots and making 16,122 saves for a save percentage of .917 throughout 28,763 minutes in goal. Vasilevskiy has achieved 348 quality starts, boasting a 59.2% quality start rate.
Last time on the ice, the New York Rangers faced off against the Bruins, where they were shut out 3-0. In that game, they secured only one power play opportunity but failed to score, registering zero goals from 24 shots on net.
The Rangers scored 182 goals at even strength and added 53 power play goals, ranking 13th in the NHL. New York took 2,066 shots (31st in the league), reflecting an 11.37% shooting percentage, while allowing 2,363 shots against. Last season, the Rangers fell short with a total of 235 goals and 77 points, resulting in a points percentage of .470. Defensively, they conceded 249 goals, comprised of 199 even-strength goals and 50 during penalty kills. They had 215 power play opportunities with a 24.65% scoring rate and a penalty kill percentage of 79.92% against 249 opponent power plays, achieving a save percentage of 89.5%.
In goal for the Rangers is Igor Shesterkin, who holds a 187-107-28 career record across 325 games. His quality start rate is an impressive 62.8%, with 201 quality starts to his name. He has a save percentage of .917, making 8,738 saves out of 9,534 shots faced, while allowing an average of 2.49 goals per game, totaling 796 goals conceded. Shesterkin has started 320 games and logged 14,648 minutes on the ice.
Who will come out on top in this NHL clash, covering the spread or winning outright?
Prediction: Back Tampa Bay (-135)
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