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This Thursday night marks the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup between the New York Rangers the Ottawa Senators in a best-of-seven showdown. Game 1 from Canadian Tire Centre is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on CNBC.
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New York at Ottawa Game Overview<br />
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New York posted the fourth-most points in the Metro Division with 102 and it drew Montreal in the opening round. Six games later it will now try and take another step closer to a Stanley Cup title against the second-best team in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers fell behind 2-1 against the Canadiens before reeling off three-straight victories by doubling up Montreal a combined 8-4 on the scoreboard. Five of the six games in that series either stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH on a consistent total line of five goals.
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The Rangers showed some solid balance on offense in that opening series with five different players scoring multiple goals led by right winger Mats Zuccarello’s three goals. He was the team’s leading point scorer in the regular season with 59 aided by a team-high 44 assists. Chris Kreider led the way in goals with 28, but he was fairly quiet against Montreal with just one assist in the six games. Veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist looked strong between the pipes with an impressive goals-against average of 1.70 in six starts.
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Ottawa came into its opening round matchup against Boston as a +150 series price underdog despite having the home ice advantage. It went on to lose two of three games on its home ice, but with three road wins it closed things out in six games. The total stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in four of the six games with the line closing at five for every matchup. The total has now stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in seven of the Senators last 10 games.
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There was some concern with defenseman Erik Karlsson’s availability for Game 1 due to a foot injury, but he has been upgraded to probable on the latest team report. Along with center Derick Brassard and right winger Bobby Ryan, this trio accounted for six goals and 15 assists against Boston. Craig Anderson also came up big with a GAA of 1.94 complementing a .921 save percentage while making all six starts in goal.
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New York at Ottawa Game Betting Trends<br />
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The Rangers have won nine of their last 11 games played on Thursday and they are 7-3 in their last 10 games in the conference semifinal round of the playoffs. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in 17 of their last 22 games against a team from the Atlantic Division.
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The Senators are 7-3 in their last 10 games against a Metro Division team and they have won seven of their last nine Thursday games. The total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in seven of their last nine games following a win.
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Head-to-head in this matchup, the home team has won four of the last five meetings and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in 23 of the last 29 meetings in Ottawa.
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