New York Rangers - Washington Capitals predictions and free betting tips [23/04/2024]

The second match in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 1/8 finals series is set to start, bracing for a face-off between the teams from the Eastern Conference. Night hockey fans are in for a showdown between the Rangers and Washington.

The Rangers

The Rangers' hockey players participated in 82 official NHL regular season matches in the 2023-2024 season. With 82 games played and 114 points earned, this allowed the Rangers to take the leading position in the Eastern Conference leaderboard. The Rangers' players exhibited impressive results in the 2023-2024 season, confirming their leadership claims with their performance. After 82 matches, the Rangers were able to secure the 1st place in the Eastern Conference chart, beating close competitors from Carolina and Florida who offered resistance throughout the journey.

Succeeding to edge out closest competitors by just 3 points, the secret of the Rangers' success lies in the fact that the New York team plays adeptly in both attack and defence. The Rangers manifest a comprehensive approach, evident from their tally of 282 goals scored and 229 conceded. In the first Stanley Cup Playoff match, the New York club showed their superiority over Washington, albeit without destroying the opponent. The capital club let in 4 goals from the Rangers and trailed in all statistical indicators. The match ended with a score of 4:1, a clear demonstration of the Rangers' superiority, which becomes even more apparent when assessing the statistics.

Washington

The Washington club played 82 official matches in the NHL's regular 2023-2024 season. With 91 points from 82 matches, Washington managed to take 8th place in the Eastern Conference leaderboard. Throughout the 2023-2024 season, Washington didn't celebrate victories or consistent point gains that often. The capital club was between 8th and 10th places throughout the regular season and only secured their Stanley Cup Playoffs position on the last game day. Their closest rivals from Detroit languished behind the capital team due to additional indicators. Washington's progress into the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a significant achievement considering their fairly average performance and non-starry line-up.

The fact that Alexander Ovechkin didn't perform as well as usual did little to damage his reputation as Alexander the Great who managed to haul his team into the knockout matches. In the first 1/8 final playoff match for the Stanley Cup, Washington was convincingly bested by the Eastern Conference leader who scored 4 goals against the capital team. In that match, Washington was distinctly inferior to its opponent, yet both teams have just started checking each other out, leaving the "capital" with a chance to extend the series.

Face-to-face meetings

Washington and the Rangers have gone head-to-head in 89 matches. Washington claim 45 wins, while the Rangers have emerged as the stronger side in 44 encounters.

Total prediction

The Washington individual total will be over 1 goal.

Prediction

The Rangers will win in regular time. The first match showed that the Rangers are the favorites of the showdown and it will be very hard for Washington to stretch the series, especially when the capital team plays on the road. It's quite likely that we'll see a repeat of the first match, with relatively outsider-ish Washington getting their chance at home.