New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5 Prediction and Betting Odds

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5 Preview

WagerTalk NHL handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his thoughts on Game 5 of the New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins series in Manhattan. New York’s Igor Shesterkin was the league’s best goalie during the regular season, but the playoffs have been a very different story. Can he find his form in tonight’s elimination game?

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Wednesday, May 11	NHL Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars
Moneyline:	New York Rangers -135 vs Pittsburgh Penguins +115
Puckline:	Rangers -1.5 (+190) / Penguins +1.5 (-220)
Total:	6 Goals (Over -120 / Under EV)
Game Time:	7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
Arena:	Madison Square Garden in New York City
TV:	ESPN

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Analysis

The Pittsburgh Penguins look to cap off an Eastern Conference series victory on Wednesday after back-to-back seven-goal thrillers against New York to take a 3-1 lead in the series. However, they face a New York Rangers team tonight who have been tough to beat at home this season, and no more so than tonight as they look to rally against elimination.

Despite a 3-1 series lead in these playoffs against the Rangers, the Penguins lost three of the four regular season games to the Rangers this season, including both games that took place in New York.

Penguins Getting Hot

The Pittsburgh Penguins are really hitting form right now offensively as they’ve averaged the highest number of shots in the playoffs so far along with the second-highest goals per game rating as well at 5.00 gpg in this series.

The worrying aspect for the New York Rangers ahead of this one is that the Penguins are still failing to match those shots with the goals they’re actually scoring, posting a sub 10% shots-to-goal percentage during this series thus far, well south of the likes of Toronto and Carolina who are hitting 13%.

If the Penguins can mirror that type of return moving forward then this team suddenly becomes incredibly dangerous down the stretch in the playoffs.

Shesterkin Ice-Cold at the Wrong Time

After an absolutely electric regular season campaign which saw Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin put himself firmly in the spotlight for this season’s Vezina Trophy, the wheels have well and truly come off the young Russian’s season heading into this year’s playoffs.

With the league’s No. 1 rated GSAA average and SV% over the regular season, Shesterkin has since went on to average a miserable .767 SV% along with a GA/G of 10.52 over his last two starts and will need to find that regular season form here tonight if the Rangers are going to stave off elimination for at least one more game.

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5 Prediction

We’re taking the over 6 goals tonight between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.

While this is an elimination game tonight, we simply can’t discount either the form Pittsburgh are in right now offensively or the struggles Shesterkin has been in in nets for this Rangers team either.

On top of that, while New York has come up short so far in games over this series, the Rangers averaged the fourth-highest high-danger conversion percentage in the league during the regular season and have shown themselves to be very dangerous in offense when they can click up top.

With the over going 22-7-3 in the last 32 meetings between the two sides, we expect another high scoring encounter later tonight between the Penguins and Rangers and we’re taking the over 6 goals (-120) on Wednesday.

NHL Betting Guide

Thanks to the ever-expanding sports betting industry, there are now a variety of ways to attack the betting market outside of the traditional point spreads, moneylines and totals. Few sports have seen an increase of betting popularity like hockey, and we now have several different ways to wager on the NHL and international leagues. Check out our NHL Betting Guide with helpful terms and tips for novice bettors.

Puck Time | NHL Predictions for May 11

Join Andrew McInnis, Carmine Bianco and The Prez for Wednesday’s edition of Puck Time as our panel of professional hockey handicappers break down tonight’s NHL playoff betting card. The Panthers captured the President’s Trophy with the league’s highest point total this season, but Florida is having a tough time with the Captials in the opening round. Join the Puck Time crew every week day at 11am ET / 8am PT as we discuss the NHL betting slate from a variety of handicapping angles.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NHL moneylines, puck lines and betting percentages for all of Wednesday’s playoff games, including this New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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Meet the Author

‘The sharpest sports mind in Ireland’ is how one prominent newspaper dubbed Kevin Dolan after he became the first foreigner ever to win the World Series of Handicapping tournament back in 2015. “The Irishman” made his start wagering on GAA, football, soccer and boxing, all to immense success. Since becoming a professional bettor, he has since lit up the sports betting scene in the U.S. and abroad, winning two handicapping awards and writing a best-selling book on sports handicapping named ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Betting’.

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