Senators vs Rangers

Artemi Panarin may still be the most dangerous forward on the ice, but with the Rangers on a 1-4-2 slide and stuck near the bottom of the league in goals per game, their recent 10-2 humiliation in Boston underlines how badly the wheels have come off at both ends of the rink. New York’s active roster still leans on Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, yet the absence of Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox, plus depth injuries to Conor Sheary and Adam Edstrom, leaves a lineup that looks far more ordinary than the names suggest, especially at home where they’re scoring under two goals per night. Ottawa arrives on a four-game losing streak of its own and is scrambling in net with Linus Ullmark on injured reserve and newly signed James Reimer trying to stabilize the league’s worst team save percentage, but the Senators’ healthy core of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson is driving strong five-on-five shot and chance numbers and has already shown it can crack this Rangers group, with Tkachuk’s two-goal, OT winner performance the last time these teams met. With both clubs past the halfway mark and jostling on the fringes of the Eastern playoff picture, Ottawa’s deeper forward group and better underlying territorial play give them a small but meaningful edge in a near pick’em price, so the recommendation is Senators -118 on the moneyline, graded a B- for moderate confidence and modest value given their own goaltending risk. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:29([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/roster/_/name/ott/ottawa-senators))

Both teams’ recent trends point toward volatility on the scoreboard: Ottawa has dropped four straight while being outscored 19-8 and now owns the NHL’s worst save percentage at .872, prompting the emergency addition of James Reimer, who just allowed six goals in his AHL tune-up, while New York is coming off that 10-2 drubbing by Boston and is missing both its franchise goalie Shesterkin and defensive anchor Fox. The Senators’ skater group is still generating offense at over three goals per game with a top-heavy but dangerous mix of Tkachuk, Stützle, Giroux and Batherson, and this core already pushed a 4-3 OT win over the Rangers in their last head-to-head; on the other side, even a sputtering Rangers offense with Panarin and Zibanejad should find more life against Ottawa’s patchwork crease and vulnerable penalty kill than it has against tighter defensive outfits at Madison Square Garden. With each team past 41 games and every point critical for wild-card positioning, there’s incentive for both coaches to lean on their best offensive pieces rather than sit back, and the combination of Ottawa’s leaky net, New York’s injury-thinned blue line, and high-end finishing talent on both sides makes a 4-3 style game a reasonable expectation, so the recommendation is Over 6 at -125, graded a B for a solid but not elite edge tied to whether the Rangers can finally finish their chances. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:29([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/sports/senators-sign-g-james-reimer-duration-season--flm-2026-01-12/?utm_source=openai))

Given that the Senators are the moneyline lean but arrive on a four-game skid with major question marks in goal, the puckline value swings toward a contrarian angle: backing the Rangers to keep it within a goal at +1.5 despite their injuries. Shesterkin and Fox being out, plus depth losses like Sheary and Edstrom, undeniably lower New York’s ceiling, yet this group—with Panarin, Zibanejad and Miller still available—has generally played lower-event, tighter games at MSG, and their last meeting with Ottawa ended 4-3 in overtime, a reminder that this matchup has a strong one-goal profile when both sides lean on their top lines. Ottawa’s profile this season is that of a team that drives play but struggles to finish opponents off, sitting around .500 and near the bottom of the Atlantic despite positive shot and chance shares, and with the Senators and Rangers both hovering around the wild-card bubble past midseason, a desperate, grind-it-out home effort from New York is more likely than another multi-goal collapse. That combination—expected Senators edge but high probability of a one-goal margin—makes Rangers +1.5 at -220 the recommended puckline side, but the steep juice and Ottawa’s offensive upside cap the recommendation at a C+ grade, suitable more for parlay anchors than standalone exposure. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:29([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/injuries?utm_source=openai))