{"id":260518,"date":"2023-02-20T12:20:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T18:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=260518"},"modified":"2023-02-20T12:20:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T18:20:47","slug":"new-york-rangers-metopolitan-division-oddsars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-york-rangers-metopolitan-division-oddsars\/","title":{"rendered":"Sportsbooks Sleeping on Rangers Division Odds as NHL Trade Deadline Nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every New York Rangers fan in the New York metropolitan area was ecstatic last year on the third night of June. That’s after the Blueshirts went up 2-0 on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals, giving everyone a breather — or so they thought — after a pair of seven-game epics against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

And then the roof fell in: Four straight losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning to end the season.<\/p>\n

\"stanley<\/p>\n

Those four straight losses put the Lightning back into the Stanley Cup finals for the third consecutive year, and the Rangers Cup drought stretched to 28 years. That is a lifetime in the National Hockey League. But now the Rangers have made a couple of trades that represent a lifeline.<\/p>\n

And they’ve done it with the sportsbooks keeping their odds of winning the Metropolitan Division unusually high. With just under two months left in the regular season, the Rangers trail the Carolina Hurricanes by seven points and the New Jersey Devils by four points. But New York strung together seven straight victories before salvaging a single point with an overtime loss at Calgary on Saturday to cap a four-game road trip.<\/p>\n

What is Fueling the Rangers’ Surge?<\/h2>\n

Alexis Lafreniere, their first-round pick in 2020, scored the game-tying tally with 7:12 left in regulation Saturday night to help force overtime. He also recorded a crucial third-period tally and the shootout winner against the Oilers Friday night. Lafreniere recorded points in six of his last seven games, as well as 10 of his last 11,\u00a0 with linemates Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil controlling the offensive zone.<\/p>\n

\n

WHAT'S THAT? <\/p>\n

LAF GOAL? <\/p>\n

TIE GAME. pic.twitter.com\/ko4LtiiFFL<\/a><\/p>\n

— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n