Capitals vs. Rangers: Top two bets for Sunday's matchup

Capitals vs. Rangers Odds

Sunday, April 21, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute NHL odds here.

Washington Capitals

Thanks to some help from the Philadelphia Flyers, the Capitals ultimately shocked the NHL world and claimed the Eastern Conference's second wild card spot at the 11th hour. After losing six games in a row, Washington won four of its final five regular season contests to sneak into the postseason despite their rebuilding efforts and a -37 goal differential.

Charlie Lindgren, who carried the Capitals for much of the regular season, was stellar down the stretch, surrendering just eight total goals across the team's last five regular-season games. He finished the season with 10.50 GSAx and tied for the league lead with six shutouts. If the Capitals are going to make this series interesting, it'll be largely because Lindgren, who has never appeared in a playoff game, continues to shine.

As a team, Washington will look to frustrate the Rangers with the patient, defense-first approach it patented this season. Over the Capitals' last five regular-season games, they posted an impressive 1.82 xGA/60 at 5-on-5. If New York starts to get impatient and turns to their fancy, east-west style in the neutral zone, the Capitals are capable of punishing them. Otherwise, though, goals will likely be hard to come by for a Washington team that simply doesn't drive play at even strength.

By making it this far, the Capitals have already exceeded expectations, thus, they shouldn't be feeling any pressure come puck drop on Sunday. But the task of playing spoiler, in Game 1 and this series, appears to be a tall one.

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New York Rangers

Coming off a Presidents' Trophy-clinching victory and five days' rest to finish the regular season, the Rangers enter this series with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations. This is an experienced, battle-tested group that is hungry to avenge last year's first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils and two years ago's blown 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

There's reason to believe this is the year they get over the hump. After some up-and-down play in December and January, New York has been the NHL's best team since the All-Star Break, posting a 25-7-1 record and a league-leading .773 points percentage. While the Rangers' underlying numbers still aren't pretty, they find ways to win on the back of elite goaltending, superb special teams and an impressive collection of high-end talent.

Igor Shesterkin, who has been excellent in the playoffs the past two years, finished the regular season with a 2.58 GAA, a .913 SV% and 12.10 GSAx. He gives New York the goaltending advantage in almost any series. In terms of special teams, the Rangers ranked third in the NHL on both the power play and penalty kill. And in comparison to the Capitals, whose leading scorer finished with just 67 points, New York is absolutely loaded with game-breaking talent, as it had five players exceed 70 points this season.

The question will be whether the Rangers' top forwards, particularly Artemi Panarin, can rise to the occasion in this year's playoffs. For Panarin, the aftertaste of last year's early exit and his two-point postseason remains fresh. Now, fresh off a career-best 120-point season that has him in the MVP conversation, the 32-year-old will look to right the ship.

Capitals vs. Rangers

Betting Pick & Prediction

While this matchup appears lopsided, it's worth noting the Rangers and Capitals split their four-game season series, albeit all four games came when New York was playing .500 hockey during its aforementioned rough patch.

The reality, though, is the Rangers are currently a different, much-improved team, and that Washington looks like it may be without two regulars on defense in Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen.

With the Blueshirts playing at Madison Square Garden, where they went 30-11-0 this season, and motivated to vindicate themselves of last year's Game 7 no-show, I don't see them overlooking Peter Lavioletette's former team in Game 1 of this series.

Thus, I've got New York starting the playoffs with a bang and winning this one handily, and I expect Panarin to be a big part of it as he begins to put the narratives surrounding his playoff performance to rest.

Picks: Rangers -1.5 (+120) & Artemi Panarin Anytime Goalscorer (+140)