Florida Panthers vs. New York Rangers Pick and Prediction – May 24, 2024

FLORIDA PANTHERS VS. NEW YORK RANGERS EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – May 24, 2024 — Is it crisis time for the Broadway Blueshirts? The Rangers’ biggest question going into Game 1 was whether they could solve Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida defense. In the series opener, the answer proved an emphatic no.

New York barely generated anything to test the Florida defense, and the Rangers deservedly put up a zero for the first time since December. And now they’ve got to find a way to get past this Florida team and even the series, or they’ll face the same mountain Carolina did last year at this stage.

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For Florida’s part, the Panthers didn’t even play all that well. That might be the scarier thing for New York: the Panthers simply scored first and swatted the Rangers away for the rest of the night. The lead only doubled because of an errant pass off Alexis Lafreniere’s stick, and Florida then iced it on the empty netter two minutes later.

That’s far from dominating hockey, but this isn’t a series where dominance is needed. Good enough is likely to get the job done most nights. Florida controlled the tempo and New York looked like it was still lost at sea. If the Rangers are still gasping the way they were in Games 4 and 5 of the Carolina series, they’re not solving this Panther puzzle.

The Odds

Puck Drop

When: Friday, May 24 at 8 p.m. EST

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

TV: ESPN

Public Bets: 51% on New York

Public Money: 57% on New York

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of May 24th, 2024

Florida Panthers vs. New York Rangers In-Season Trends

Finally, one of these games went the way it was supposed to go. Both of these teams are defense-heavy, and Florida controlled the flow of the game to get the under to cash with ease. Neither team seemed to want to take a lot of chances in Game 1, and the score reflected it. Once Florida got itself in front, the Panthers were content to sit back and let the Rangers come to them.

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The more important trend to watch is whether the teams’ tendency to play even hockey continues. The Rangers have won six of 10 against Florida, but they really didn’t look good in Game 1. New York’s going to have to play much better than it did in the opener to get back on level terms.

Players to Watch

How does Alexis Lafreniere respond after his calamitous mistake in Game 1? The Rangers probably weren’t winning the game anyway given that they never beat Bobrovsky, but a mistake like that can take a while to get past. Lafreniere’s a young star and hasn’t had this kind of moment happen before. He has to bounce back here.

Matthew Tkachuk really set the tone for Florida in the first game and has been difficult to deal with all postseason. The Panthers need that to continue to put a chokehold on the series.

The Pick

New York’s Game 1 performance was troubling. The Panthers were the fresher and hungrier team from beginning to end, and it appeared that once the Rangers fell behind, that was the game. The Rangers have to step up the aggression in Game 2 or this might be a very short series.

My main play will be the under here, as I don’t want to trust either side in a coin flip. If I have to take a side, I’m guessing the Rangers come out more fired up this time.