The New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy.
They have 3 more wins than any other group in the NHL this season.
The Blueshirts will have home-ice benefit throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they are the greatest favorites in Round 1, which starts Sunday at 3 p.m. versus the Washington Capitals at MSG.
That is a profile that would lead you to think that the Rangers must be the wagering preferred to raise the Cup.
Not so quickly.
While chances will differ from sportsbook to sportsbook, there is no mainstream bookie that has the Rangers as a clear favorite.
FanDuel notes the Blueshirts 3rd behind the Hurricanes and Panthers and DraftKings has them 5th behind those groups, plus the Avalanche and Oilers.
The margins are rather thin, however it still will leave some Rangers fans and casual punters astonished.
Why is the group that simply had the very best routine season not even the preferred to win its conference?
This is an argument handicappers have actually had because October.
The Rangers have not stopped winning at any point throughout the 82-game season, however there are genuine concerns about whether their formula will equate into playoff success.
The very first warning everybody explains is that the Rangers own a +1 objective distinction at 5-on-5 this season.
The Blueshirts scored 166 objectives, which is connected for 17th in the circuit, at 5-on-5 and they yielded 165, which is likewise 17th-best.
The underlying metrics recommend this is a reasonable represent how New York has actually played as its anticipated objective (xG) distinction at 5-on-5 is roughly -6.6, according to Natural Stat Trick.
While a lot of groups in the NHL would have a hard time to regularly get outcomes with that sort of analytical profile, the Rangers have actually developed themselves as an outlier over a three-season sample.
The Blueshirts have an abundance of very gifted playmakers– led by 120-point scorer Artemi Panarin– so the possibilities they do produce are typically of high quality, and their goaltenders assist cover the majority of their protective defects.
And when the video game isn’t at 5-on-5, the Rangers are possibly the very best group in the NHL.
The Blueshirts was among 2 groups (in addition to Carolina) to complete leading 3 in both power-play and penalty-kill portion.
Artemi Panarin # 10 of the New York Rangers commemorates his 3rd duration objective versus the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on April 15, 2024 in New York City. Getty Images
The Rangers likewise were a great overtime group, going 12-4 after 60 minutes, however that will be a moot point because regular-season overtime guidelines are really various from the playoffs (3-on-3, then a shootout vs. 5-on-5 till a golden objective is scored).
Another issue might emerge if New York’s power play goes cold or the officiating basic modifications in the playoffs.