The Peter Laviolette Era got off to a great start for the New York Rangers.
Not only did the Blueshirts come away with two points in a 5-1 victory in Buffalo, but the team looked very sure of itself defensively and limited the high-flying Sabres to just five high-danger scoring chances and 1.14 expected goals at 5-on-5.
It’s just Game 1, but it was a positive sign for a team that often relied on its power play and goaltender to make up for poor 5-on-5 numbers in the previous two seasons.
The Rangers have a great chance to get to 2-0 with a trip to Columbus on Saturday night.
Rangers vs. Blue Jackets prediction
While the Blueshirts are off and running in 2023-24, the Blue Jackets stumbled out of the gates in a winnable season-opener against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Columbus lost, 4-2, and the story of the game was how well the Flyers played defensively.
The Blue Jackets are not an offensive juggernaut, but Philadelphia effectively clamped down on Columbus, holding the Jackets to just four high-danger scoring chances and 1.52 expected goals at 5-on-5 in the opener.
It was just one game, but it was not a good sign for the Blue Jackets.
Columbus profiles as a team that will struggle defensively — they were just about the worst defensive team in the NHL in 2022-23 — so they’ll need to find consistent offense to make up for their inability to keep the puck out of their own net.
That will be easier said than done against an opportunistic Rangers team that thrives off of mistakes and in transition.
The Blueshirts have long established that they don’t need bushels of scoring chances to get on the board and that should bode well against a leaky defensive team with suspect goaltending to boot.
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Time will tell if what we saw from the Rangers in the curtain-raiser was a sign of things to come, but this matchup should absolutely suit them and the goaltending mismatch is wide enough that bettors can feel comfortable laying the -1.5 goals.
The Bet: Rangers -1.5 (+130, FanDuel Sportsbook)