New York Rangers vs Ottawa Prediction 22 January 2025

🔊 Will the Rangers maintain their pace? The Rangers have finally found stability, and with the advent of the new calendar year, they have hardly made any slip-ups. However, their impressive tournament surge has not yet allowed the team to return to the playoff zone. Ottawa, on the other hand, is making history. The club, which everyone had already written off, has loudly returned to the race for a spot in the Eastern Conference's playoff eight and has excelled in this endeavor. We are looking at a clash between two very "hot" teams.

📊 Head-to-head

The opponents have already met in the current regular season. At the very beginning of November, the Rangers struggled to secure a narrow home victory with a score of 2:1. Forward Alexis Lafrenière made a decisive contribution to his team's success. The American made an assist and scored the winning goal. However, the current form of the hockey player raises serious doubts, as he has only managed to score points twice in the last six games, which is clearly insufficient given his considerable playing time.

🔵 Rangers

The Rangers' deep playing crisis lasted for a month and a half. During this time, one of the main favorites in the East found themselves far outside the playoff zone, and management began frantically searching for ways to save the situation. Everything changed dramatically right after the start of the new calendar year. In 2025, New York fans once again saw a team capable of achieving much. In their last ten games, the "Blueshirts" lost only once in regulation time to the Eastern Conference leaders Washington (4:7). In all other cases, the team consistently managed to earn points. This impressive tournament surge did not allow the club to return to the playoff eight but brought them as close as possible to their goal.

🔴 Ottawa

The Senators' renaissance was even more impressive. The club from Canada's capital won five out of their last six games, losing only to Washington (0:1 in overtime). Unlike their upcoming opponent, the team managed to reach seventh place in the conference. However, the competition here is extremely tight, and just a few consecutive slip-ups could be fatal. The main hero for the team during this period was goalkeeper Leevi Meriläinen. The Finn almost single-handedly secured four victories for his team and was only beaten by Alexander Ovechkin's wrist shot.

🔗 Probable Lineups

Rangers: Shesterkin - Lindgren, Fox - Panarin, Trocheck, Lafrenière

Ottawa: Forsberg - Sanderson, Zub - Tkachuk, Norris, Batherson

🥅 Goalkeepers

Rangers' goaltender Igor Shesterkin returned from injury and brought back exactly what the team needed most - stability and calmness at the back end. In his last five games, the Russian failed to maintain a 90% save percentage only once, and that was when his team lost in overtime to Colorado (2:3). The graduate of Moscow Spartak's hockey school plays a crucial role.

Ottawa's goaltender Anton Forsberg is now replacing Canada's capital hero Leevi Meriläinen. After an extremely successful series of matches, the Finn was given some rest time, and his Scandinavian partner is stepping up for the Senators. Credit where it's due, he is performing excellently. For instance, the Swede managed to stop 25 out of 26 shots on goal in the match against New Jersey.

📝 Editorial Prediction

Yes, the Rangers are on the rise and clearly coming out of their crisis. The team regularly achieves success and earns points. However, the current Ottawa has become a very "tough nut" and will certainly put up a fight. Moreover, there are two trends directly indicating the likelihood of success for the visitors. The New York club has not won in regulation time in 7 out of their last 8 games, while the Senators have not lost in 6 consecutive matches. In our opinion, both trends will remain relevant. Our key bet is Ottawa will not lose.