Rangers And Senators Will Be Low-Scoring

Rangers vs. Senators, 7:07 ET

U-G-L-Y. That's the way you spell my Monday night and the start of this week of betting. It could be a good thing for readers - look, if you decide to fade because I can't hit the broad side of a barn, that works for you. Eventually, I will get hot, but I want you to make money, not just me. The problem is I haven't gotten on a roll or slide in the NHL, it has been a mixed bag of wins and losses. I'm looking to get a win tonight in the game between the Rangers and Senators.

The Rangers are one of the NHL's best teams in the early going and continue to push for more. They have a record of 18-4-1 for the season, and as you'd expect, they've been good on the road with a 10-2-1 record away from home. The Rangers have been a pretty well-balanced team, but are led in points, goals, and assists by Artemi Panarin. They do have two other players that have already produced 22 points and another who is almost there with 19. It doesn't stop there though, they have a total of nine players with double-digit points in this season. That's a good sign for the balance of the club. Not only are they playing very well in terms of their offense, their defense has been among the best in the game with a 2.57 goals against per game average. They still face a pretty high amount of shots against them each game, but are doing a good job of stopping those goals. They've been great in Power Play situations - scoring on 30% of their own and stopping 84% of opponents. I assume that Igor Shesterkin will be in the net, but I'm okay with either Rangers goalie tonight.

SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 06: Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (57) tries to cut off the puck during the game between the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers on Thursday, April 6, 2023 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Senators are essentially an average team overall with a record of 9-10-0 for their season. I always find it interesting how some teams can have a ton of overtime games and others have very few. Both of these teams are not playing close games for the most part which makes me think that puck line plays could be very beneficial to bet on in games with the Senators. Ottawa has an interesting statistic tied to them right now - they have scored 3.32 goals per game and have also allowed 3.32 goals per game. Perhaps that's all we needed to see to understand the .500 record. The Senators are just 2-3 in their past five games. In their wins, they've allowed just one total goal. In the three losses, they've allowed 14 goals and scored five goals. Overall, they've only scored nine goals in the last five games as well. Tonight, against a tough Rangers team, I don't expect them to rack up the goals. It is likely that the Senators put Anton Forsberg in the net tonight. He's been a mixed bag this season with eight appearances (seven starts). He's allowed five or more goals in three starts, and then two or fewer in four games.

I like the under in this game. I think the Rangers could end up putting in four or five goals, but Forsberg has the ability to at least hold them to a couple of goals. The Rangers defense will be tough on the Senators and I do think they will hold them to a goal or two as well. I like the under 6.5 in this game and will play that. I also think the -1.5 for the Rangers at +180 is worth a sprinkle.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024