Penguins vs Rangers Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Saturday Afternoon Hockey

• The Penguins are -126 road favorites over the Rangers for Saturday’s matinee at Madison Square Garden
• New York has dropped five straight and gone 1-6-1 at home since mid-January, while Pittsburgh is 9-1-2 over its last 12
• See my Penguins vs Rangers picks, predictions and best bets below for Saturday Afternoon Hockey on ABC

The Pittsburgh Penguins (30-15-12) visit the New York Rangers (22-29-7) in a Metropolitan Division matinee Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Pittsburgh sits second in the Metro and has just one regulation loss since January 13, while New York is anchored to the bottom of the Eastern Conference and can’t buy a win at home.

The Penguins are without captain Sidney Crosby, who sustained a lower-body injury at the Olympics and is out at least four weeks. It didn’t matter on Thursday, as Pittsburgh rolled to a 4-1 win over the Devils. The Rangers, meanwhile, blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Flyers despite getting Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox back from 13-game absences.

Puck drop is 12:30 pm ET on ABC. Here are my Penguins vs Rangers picks, predictions and best bets for Saturday Afternoon Hockey.

Penguins vs Rangers Picks

• Penguins ML (-126 at FanDuel)

My top Penguins vs Rangers pick is Pittsburgh on the moneyline. Even without Crosby, this team hasn’t skipped a beat. The Pens are 9-1-2 in their last 12 games, with seven of those wins coming by at least three goals.

They beat the Devils 4-1 on Thursday with four different goal scorers, and Evgeni Malkin has been carrying the offense with three goals and 11 assists during this surge.

The Rangers are in a tailspin. They’ve lost five straight and are 2-11-2 in their last 15 games overall. New York is 1-6-1 at MSG during this skid, and they’ve been shut out nine times this season — seven of those at the Garden.

Penguins vs Rangers Key Stats

Pittsburgh dominates in nearly every meaningful category. The Penguins rank fifth in goals per game, seventh in goals against, and fourth on the power play. New York is bottom-three in shots per game and shooting percentage, and they’re 27th in scoring.

Special teams could be the difference here. Pittsburgh’s power play is clicking at 26.0%, and a Rangers penalty kill at 79.9% won’t do them any favors.

The head-to-head record backs the Pens too. Pittsburgh has won two of three meetings this season, including a 3-0 shutout in New York back in October and a 6-5 thriller in Pittsburgh on January 31. The road team has won eight of the last 10 meetings between these clubs.

Penguins vs Rangers Prediction

My Penguins vs Rangers prediction has Pittsburgh winning comfortably on the road. Crosby’s absence is significant, but the depth scoring has more than compensated. Egor Chinakhov has nine goals since his Penguins debut on January 1, and the club has nine players with double-digit goals this season.

New York is trotting out a lineup full of AHL call-ups and players jockeying for roster spots ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. Coach Mike Sullivan — the former Penguins bench boss — admitted after Thursday’s loss that the special teams weren’t good enough. Pittsburgh’s power play (4th) and penalty kill (2nd) are a massive edge here.

I expect the Pens to control possession and win this one by an approximate final score of 4-2.

Penguins vs Rangers Best Bets

• Vincent Trocheck Over 0.5 Points (-158 at FanDuel)

Trocheck has registered at least one point in five of his last six games against Pittsburgh, and he had one goal and nine assists over his last 10 games heading into the weekend. He’s playing top-line minutes and getting power-play time. If the Rangers are going to score, Trocheck will likely be involved.

• Anthony Mantha Over 1.5 Shots on Goal (-143 at Bet365)

Mantha has cleared 1.5 shots on goal in four of his last six games, and he scored twice in the last meeting between these teams on January 31. The Rangers allow the 20th-most shots per game, so he should see plenty of looks. The price is reasonable for my favorite Penguins vs Rangers best bet in the prop market.

Penguins vs Rangers Odds

Odds as of Feb. 28. Check out the Bet365 bonus code to bet on the NHL this weekend.

The latest Penguins vs Rangers odds have Pittsburgh as a -126 moneyline favorite at FanDuel, with the Rangers at +110 over at DraftKings. The total is set at 5.5 goals, with the over at -130 at Bet365. On the puck line, Pittsburgh is -1.5 at +210 at Bet365, while the Rangers are getting 1.5 goals at -225 on MGM.

35 of Pittsburgh’s 57 games this season have gone over 5.5 goals, so keep that in mind if you’re eyeing the total. The Penguins are averaging 3.42 goals per game and have scored at least four in nine of their last 12 contests.

Penguins vs Rangers Starting Goalies

Arturs Silovs vs Igor Shesterkin Stats

Arturs Silovs is the projected starter for Pittsburgh after stopping 28 of 29 shots (.966 save percentage) in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Devils. It was his best performance in his last nine games. He doesn’t need to steal this one — Pittsburgh’s 3.42 goals of run support per game gives him a huge cushion.

Stuart Skinner (19-12-5, 2.79 GAA, .904 SV%) could also get the nod for Pittsburgh. Either way, the Penguins have the offensive firepower to win regardless of who’s in net.

Igor Shesterkin returned Thursday after missing 13 games with a lower-body injury and allowed three goals on 24 shots in the overtime loss to Philadelphia. His season numbers are still elite at a 2.47 GAA and .912 save percentage. But the Rangers give him almost no margin for error, averaging just 2.60 goals per game.

Shesterkin has to be nearly perfect just to give New York a chance, and that’s a tough ask in his second game back from injury.

Penguins vs Rangers How to Watch

Puck drop for Saturday’s matinee is 12:30 pm ET at Madison Square Garden in New York. The game airs nationally on ABC.