Rangers, Devils Meet in Yankee Stadium Showdown
Yankee Stadium will play host to its first ever hockey game Sunday as the New York Rangers play the New Jersey Devils as part of the NHL’s 2014 Stadium Series.
The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs made history on New Year’s Day, enticing 105,491 people into the cold wind and snow to watch a thrilling open air hockey game.
The Leafs got the better of their new division rivals that game, winning 3-2 in a shootout.
After the now-traditional New Year curtain-raiser, the NHL has now ramped up the outdoor portion of its schedule with three open air games in five days.
Things got underway in the most unlikely of hockey locales Saturday evening; Los Angeles.
The Anaheim Ducks handed the ‘home’ team Los Angeles Kings a 3-0 defeat at Dodger Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 54,099 – the biggest to have watched a game within a baseball stadium.
The focus now switches east for Sunday’s showdown between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The puck is scheduled to drop in the Bronx at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Despite being based further away, New Jersey (22-19-11, 55pts) will be considered the home side. The Rangers (27-23-3, 57pts) will take the 4 Train to Yankee Stadium as the road side.
The sides enter the game separated by just two points, each with a very real chance of playoff hockey come April.
The Rangers bounced back from a slow start to the year to first climb into a wild card position and now into sixth-place. But with 11 teams separated by just 10 points, the Eastern Conference is a convoluted place to play hockey, and winning is essential, even in January.
Seven teams are separated by two points with only two currently in position to earn a wild card berth. New Jersey sits a point below those two sides. Winning on Sunday could see Peter DeBoer’s side climb into or beyond that berth.
Both sides will send their veteran goalies out onto the ice at Yankee Stadium.
New Jersey will start Martin Brodeur, despite backup Corey Schneider being hot of late. The 41-year-old Brodeau is 13-10-4 on the season, with a 2.36 GAA and .905 save percentage. He has been in net for each of the past two matchups with the Rangers.
New York will have Henrik Lundqvist in net. Lundqvist has gone 17-18-3 on the season, with a 2.53 GAA and .915 save percentage. He is 0-3-0 against the Rangers this season.
New Jersey enters the game winners of two in a row and with a 5-1-2 record in its last eight. On Friday, the Devils handed the Washington Capitals a 2-1 defeat.
The Rangers meanwhile have lost two straight, including a 2-1 defeat at home against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Prior to that, Alain Vigneault’s side has picked up wins in 11 of the last 15.
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils odds for 01/26/2014
The Rangers (-116) opened as the favorite over New Jersey (+105) on the moneyline and have moved further ahead of the Devils as betting has gotten underway.
However, the Devils have won all three meetings between the sides this season, and are 7-3-0 against the Rangers in the last 10 meetings between the sides.
The Rangers have previous experience when it comes to playing outdoors though, which could make a difference. The Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in the NHL Winter Classic in Philadelphia on January 2, 2012.
New Jersey will make its open air debut on Sunday.
The Rangers are favored by 1.5 goals on the spread but New Jersey (-300) is expected to cover the spread ahead of New York (+250).
We’ve mentioned before that the Rangers are sticklers for one-goal games; the Manhattan side has seen 12 of its last 19 decided by a single goal. Two of the three meetings between the Rangers and Devils this season have seen the sides separated by one goal.
The over/under is set at 5 with the under (-121) favored to the over (+110).
The two sides rank in the bottom third of the league in goals per contest (both 2.4 goals per game). The Rangers allow 2.5 goals per game, good enough for 11th in the league, while New Jersey allows 2.3 goals per outing, third-best in the league.
Expect this one to be a low-scoring affair then.
After Sunday’s game at Yankee Stadium, the Rangers and Devils will meet once more this regular season, on March 22 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The NHL Stadium Series continues this week as the New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET). The game once again takes place at Yankee Stadium.
Following this week’s open air action and before the season comes to a close, the NHL will play another two outdoor games:
March 1, 2014: Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks (Soldier Field, Chicago, IL)
March 2, 2014: NHL Heritage Classic: Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (BC Place, Vancouver, BC)
For a full list of today’s NHL odds, click here.
For updated NHL futures odds, click here.
For a selection of NHL team prop bets, click here.
For a selection of NHL player prop bets, click here.
