The San Jose Sharks face the New York Rangers on Thursday night in a matchup between NHL teams that will be at either end of the NHL standings all year long.
The New York Rangers look like a Stanley Cup contender, while the San Jose Sharks will be in the draft lottery, hoping to get a great player in an expected deep and talented draft class. This one might not be close, and as of publication, the odds don’t reflect that.
We’ll review the Sharks vs Rangers betting stats to get you primed to make a pick from Thursday’s NHL matchups.
Puck drop for the Sharks vs. Rangers is NHL scheduled for 7:00 P.M. ET on Thursday, October 20th, 2022, from the world’s most famous arena: Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. You can catch the Sharks vs. Rangers on NHLPP or ESPN+.
San Jose Sharks vs. New York Rangers Stats
San Jose Sharks Stats
The San Jose Sharks enter Thursday night’s game with a 0-5-0 record. After starting the season with two losses to the Nashville Predators in Prague, Czech Republic, the Sharks returned to North America and have found no success.
The Sharks remained in New York to play the Rangers, coming off back-to-back 5-2 losses to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Islanders.
NHL Standings
Needless to say, the Sharks are at the bottom of the NHL standings and are likely to remain there until the end of the season. This will be factored into our Sharks vs. Rangers betting predictions.
Evgeny Svechnikov, Erik Karlsson, and Mario Ferraro lead the San Jose Sharks in scoring, each with three points in 2022-23.
San Jose will need Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl to be better if the Sharks want to be offensively competitive, despite being one of the teams expected to struggle throughout the 2022-23 NHL regular season.
San Jose has split the playing time between James Reimer and Kappo Kahkonen this season. Reimer has a 0-3-0 record, with a 3.05 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
San Jose’s Terrifying Power Play
Kahkonen has a 0-2-0 record with a 4.10 goals-against average and a .814 save percentage. Long gone are the days of San Jose’s terrifying power play, although they can still have the talent to be good on the power play, converting at 5.3% this season.
The penalty kill is operating at 100%, so at least that’s a positive in an otherwise negative start to the season. The San Jose Sharks are averaging a league-worst 1.6 goals per game.
The San Jose Sharks only have three player injuries to report. Denfencmen Markus Nutivaara, Nikolai Knyzhov, and left-winger Alexander Barabanov are all on the injured reserve list and will not return for some time.
New York Rangers Stats
The New York Rangers enter Thursday night’s game with a 3-1-0 record. The Rangers bounced back from a challenging 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on October 14th, returning home to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 on Tuesday night.
The consistent theme throughout the Rangers’ first four games is that this New York Ranger team is playing pretty exciting hockey and is an early favorite for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run.
The Rangers’ power play has been fun to watch, scoring five goals in four games and converting at 33.3% this season.
The Rangers’ penalty kill is operating at 78.6%. The New York Rangers are averaging 4.25 goals per game, ranking them tied for sixth in the league with the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL Stats Rankings
Artemi Panarin leads the NHL stats rankings early this season with ten (two goals, eight assists) points in four games.
Mika Zibanejad is tied for third in the league, scoring eight points (four goals and four assists). Zibanejad is responsible for three of the Rangers’ five power-play goals.
Simply put, the Rangers starting goalie Igor Shesterkin is the best goalie in the league. Sheterkin has a 3-0-0 record, posting a 2.68 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.
Halak’s Only Appearance
Jaroslav Halak lost to the Winnipeg Jets in his only appearance this season, posting a 3.05 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
We’re not sure who the Rangers will be starting, but we expect Halak to get a start against either the Sharks on Thursday night or the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday afternoon.
The New York Rangers have two players listed as out on the injury report. Center Ryan Carpenter and right-winger Vitali Kravtsov are listed as out as of October 17th, and their status has not been updated.
San Jose Sharks vs. New York Rangers Betting Trends
Important to the Sharks vs Rangers betting stats and our picks are each team’s betting records against the spread so far in 2022-23.
Moneyline
The San Jose Sharks are 2-3 against the spread this season while going 0-5 on the moneyline. As of publication, the New York Rangers are 3-1 against the spread and on the moneyline.
As expected, New York Rangers have opened Thursday’s slate of NHL games as the moneyline betting favorite on most online sportsbooks, with odds between -236 and -294.
The San Jose Sharks are the current moneyline betting underdog, with odds ranging from +220 and +237 odds.
Puck line
The puck line spread is set to 1.5. The New York Rangers are listed with a spread of -1.5 and are the slight betting favorite on some betting lines, with odds ranging from -103 to -115.
The San Jose Sharks are listed at +1.5 and are the slight betting underdog on some sports books to cover the spread, with odds ranging from -105 to -118.
San Jose Sharks vs. New York Rangers Matchup Predictions
These Sharks vs Rangers betting stats for our picks will not surprise you, having read the odds and information: the New York Rangers will win this game. We’re taking the New York Rangers to win on the moneyline, with odds -236 and -294.
In all honesty, the Rangers’ moneyline odds should be significantly larger. These odds are a value for the Rangers.
We also favor the New York Rangers to cover the puck line spread. The odds are close, but, in all honesty, the Rangers should win this game by two or three goals.
In fact, the Rangers have won each of their three games by a minimum two-goal spread against better competition. Unless the Sharks have an incredible night or their goalies are very sharp, it’ll be a long night for Sharks fans.
Most Profitable Team to Bet On
The New York Rangers are the better hockey team. That’s all there is to say. We’re picking the Rangers, their high-flying offense, and the best goalie in the NHL (or his capable backup) to give San Jose another loss on their record.
We’re confident that this game won’t be close and will likely parlay the Rangers to win on the moneyline with a wager on New York to cover the spread.
There is no need to spread the NHL news: the New York Rangers are the better hockey team and should defeat the San Jose Sharks easily.
NHL Pick: Rangers -1.5 (-115)
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