The New York Rangers closed out their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015 with three straight victories. Down three games to one in this year’s series, the Rangers will need three straight wins against the Penguins again if they are going to advance out of the first round.
Rangers vs. Penguins 2016, NHL playoff odds: New York Game 5 underdogs at Pittsburgh
The New York Rangers need a win as an underdog in Game 5 to avoid elimination against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their first-round series.
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New York is a +165 road underdog in Saturday night’s Game 5 in Pittsburgh at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Pittsburgh is a -185 favorite in Game 5 and has been the betting favorite in every game of this series.
With an impressive 4-2 upset in Game 2 over the Penguins in Pittsburgh as a +156 underdog, the Rangers stole home ice away from the Penguins heading back to New York. Unfortunately for the Rangers, home ice didn’t do them much good in Game 3 or Game 4, losing 3-1 in their first playoff home game and then 5-0 the next time out.
New York is 6-4 in its last 10 postseason road games according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
Henrik Lundqvist has been notoriously strong in games in which the Rangers have faced elimination in recent seasons. Since 2012, New York is 15-4 in elimination games with Lundqvist owning a 1.50 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage in those 19 games.
After missing the first two games of the series with a head injury, Penguins rookie goaltender Matt Murray returned in time for Game 3 to completely stymie the Rangers. Murray stopped 47 of 48 shots in Pittsburgh’s two road wins as the offense racked up eight goals, led by Evgeni Malkin’s two goals and three assists. Pittsburgh is 17-3 in its last 20 games overall.
Saturday night’s total is set at five goals on the NHL betting lines. The OVER is 9-1-6 in New York’s last 16 games and 5-2-1 in Pittsburgh’s last eight.
Pittsburgh has been eliminated from each of the last two postseasons by the Rangers, including the 2014 conference semifinals in which the Penguins held a 3-1 series lead. The Penguins hold a clear advantage in the series heading into Game 5, but Lundqvist and the Rangers aren’t likely to go down without a fight.
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