Rangers vs. Red Wings prediction: NHL odds, tips, bets

The New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings will conclude their home opener with a showdown in MoTown on Thursday night.

The Blueshirts won the first leg 4-1, although that result flatters the winners a little.

That's not to say the Rangers didn't deserve the two points, just that it wasn't as one-sided as the final result suggests. Expected goals (xG) at 5v5 were 2.1 to 1.7 in favor of Detroit.

Is the betting market underestimating the Wings' chances in the second game of this home game?

Rangers vs Red Wings prediction

The formula for the Rangers probably won't change much this season.

The Blueshirts are an elite special teams team and have one of the best goaltenders in the world.

This means the Blueshirts can get away with mediocre results at 5-on-5 and still have plenty of success. This method earned them a Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24.

The Red Wings don't have the luxury of having Igor Shesterkin, but they were also a top-10 team on the power play and above-average on the penalty kill last season.

That makes sense when you consider that the top of the roster includes players like Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane, Alex deBrincat and Moritz Seider.

Detroit's main problem is their lack of depth, particularly on the blueline. Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson should be on their way to becoming excellent top-four defenders, but their supporting cast could use a lot of help.

The Wings have tried to avoid this mistake by playing low-event hockey that allows them to compete. I would expect more of the same in this game and in the future.

Betting on the NHL?

This will be a battle of opposing styles as the Blueshirts want to open up the game and turn it into a back and forth game while the Red Wings want the opposite.

This could make it a pretty difficult affair that is likely to be pretty close throughout. That's why it's important that this game goes into overtime with odds of +360.

The Bet: Regular Draw (+360, FanDuel)

Why you should trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff hampers the EPL, NHL, golf and everything else that isn't the NFL and NBA for the NY Post. It increased by 49.73 units with a stake of EPL and has an ROI of 7.17%.