The New York Rangers (3-1-0) welcome the San Jose Sharks (0-5-0), who will be looking to halt their winless start, at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. San Jose is coming off a 5-2 loss against the Islanders on Tuesday, their fifth defeat in a row. Evgeny Svechnikov and Nico Sturm both scored once for the Sharks. Svechnikov added an assist to lead the team in scoring. James Reimer had 41 saves in the loss. New York beat the Ducks 6-4 on Monday. Mika Zibanejad scored twice to lead the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin surrendered four goals on 22 shots (.818%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Rangers won both games between the teams last season, including a 3-0 victory in their final meeting in January, their seventh straight win against San Jose. Chris Kreider led New York with two goals. Shesterkin saved 37 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
San Jose is averaging 1.60 goals per game so far this season, worst in the NHL, and they are taking on a Rangers team that is allowing 3.00 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, New York has found the net 4.25 times a game on average, seventh in the league, and the Sharks are allowing opponents to score 3.80 goals per game (23rd).New York averages more shots per game (39.5) than most teams in the league, ranking second. With an average of 27.4 attempts, San Jose ranks 26th. The Rangers’ fifth-ranked power play offense (33.33%) will be put to the test against the Sharks, who are the league’s best penalty killing team (100.00%). San Jose, meanwhile, has scored on only 5.26% of their power play opportunities (30th), which the visiting team will be seeking to add to against New York’s 18th-ranked 78.57% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With three points apiece this season, Svechnikov (2G 1A) and Erik Karlsson (1G 2A) are the top skaters for the Sharks. In the net, Reimer (0-3-0) is San Jose’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.05 GAA and a .919% save percentage. Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 10 points. He has two goals and eight assists in four games. Shesterkin (3-0-0) has the best goals against average for New York at 2.68. He has a save percentage of .905%.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
NY Rangers (-250)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
