By Andrew Lauro – Wannamakeabet Staff Wrier
Detroit Red Wings 10-9-3 (+149) New York Rangers 11-9-2 (-165)
The Rangers are currently on a 2-game win streak coming off a 6-1 win on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Red Wings are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The Red Wings road record is 6-6-0 while the Rangers are 8-4-2 at home.
The Rangers most certainly have the home ice advantage, and haven’t lost at home since October 23rd against the San Jose Sharks. They are averaging 4.5 GF per game on this current 6 game win streak at home. They tend to score more when playing on their own ice. The Rangers have the edge in GF with 3.27 (7th) shots for 32.1 (13th) and PP at 23.4 % which is 5th in the league. The Rangers are an offensive threat at home, and goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been solid of late too. He’s 10-6-2 on the season with a GAA of 2.71 and a SV% of .914. In his last 5 he’s 3-2-0 with a GAA of 1.80 and a SV% of .947. Despite his record he’s got great numbers. He had one rough outing against the Blackhawks where he played stellar for 2 periods, but the third period he let the game slip away. If the offense can keep the scoring going at home and Lundqvist keeps playing like he’s been the Rangers can win this game.
The Red Wings are the 3rd seed in the Atlantic division coming into this game against the Rangers. They are averaging 2.86 GF (16th) per game. Their PP is 23.2% (6th) right behind the Rangers, and their penalty kill is outstanding at 84.8%(5th). They are playing Saturday night against the Devils in Detroit. It’ll be interesting to see who they put in net tonight. Goalie Jimmy Howard is 8-6-2 on the season with a 2.50 GAA and a SV% of .923. In his last 5 he’s 2-1-2 with a GAA of 2.40 and a SV% of .906. His numbers don’t even match up to Lundqvist. Backup goalie Petr Mrazek could get the nod tonight because of the back to back games. He’s 2-3-1 on the season with a 3.10 GAA and a SV% of .905.
These teams head to head in the last 10 games:
| Red Wings | Rangers | |
| Record | 4-3-3 | 6-2-2 |
| Average Score | 1.60 | 2.20 |
| Shots | 28.40 | 28.80 |
| PP Goals | 7 | 5 |
| Number of PP’s | 36 | 35 |
| PP % | 19.44% | 14.29% |
| PK % | 85.71% | 80.56% |
The Red Wings seem to have the advantage in special team’s head to head, but with the way the Rangers have played at home of late they look like the better team. Take the Rangers at -165.