Game 2 between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will be held at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. In Game 1 of this Eastern Conference Finals matchup, the Panthers dominated in all phases, winding up with a resounding 3-0 shutout win on the road over the Rangers. It’ll be interesting to see how New York responds to this adversity, as they held a 3-0 lead in both of their previous series against Washington and Carolina before advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin are two of the best netminders in the league, so it made sense that we saw minimal goals scored in Game 1. Both goaltenders faced roughly the same amount of shot volume, but Bobrovsky emerged with a shutout, while Matthew Tkachuk scored the opening goal of the series and added an assist to make his presence felt right away within Florida’s offense. Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck are the core talent for New York, so they’ll need to dial up pressure and not leave Shesterkin out to dry if they want to even the series 1-1 before hitting the road in Game 3.
We’ve got a three-leg Same Game Parlay for Game 2 between the Panthers and Rangers tonight. We went 1-2 and lost our +112 SGP during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night, so now, we’re set to cash this SGP to start the weekend with a win. Follow me @Matt_MacKay_ on X for more free plays, NHL Prop Bets, and NHL best bets during the week.
Friday's NHL SGP
Leg 1: Mika Zibanejad To Record 1+ Points (-205)
Expect New York to come out firing early after getting shutout on home ice in Game 1. Mika Zibanejad skates alongside Chris Kreider on the Rangers’ first-line attack, earning extra opportunities on the top powerplay unit as well.
Zibanejad has recorded at least one assist in 15 of the Rangers’ last 17 games, plus he skated over 22 minutes on the ice in Game 1 and attempted two shots on goal. No player for New York recorded more than three shots on goal, so his usage within the Rangers’ offense is integral to their success in Game 2. We’re starting our SGP with Zibanejad to record a point at -205 odds.
Leg 2: Sam Reinhart To Record 3+ Shots On Goal (-215)
We haven’t visited the shots on goal market much in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but we’re heading there for the second leg and investing in Sam Reinhart. Florida’s offense has a lot of depth but Reinhart is one of their primary weapons in the offensive zone. In Game 1, he recorded four shots on goal, so here, we only need three to cash the second leg at -215 odds.
Reinhart recorded 57 goals during the regular season and finished with 233 shots on goal, third-most on the Panthers. Expect him to remain active while skating on Florida’s top powerplay unit and first-line attack, benefitting from Aleksander Barkov’s craftiness setting up scoring possessions in the offensive zone.
Leg 3: New York Rangers +1.5 (-280)
It may have been ugly in Game 1 but the Rangers did have several quality chances to light the lamp, so in Game 2, undoubtedly some of these chances will wind up with the puck in the back of the net. New York is 3-1 coming off a loss this postseason and they have yet to lose consecutive games on home ice.
-280 odds implies oddsmakers are bullish on the Rangers managing to keep this game close, potentially getting an outright win to even the series with -105 moneyline odds. We’re playing it a bit safe by investing in their puck line as home underdogs though, which means even an overtime loss yields a SGP win.
Same Game Parlay: +166
This Same Game Parlay gets up to +166 odds after inserting these three legs during Game 2 between the Panthers and Rangers on Friday night. Bobrovsky has surrendered two or more goals in eight of 12 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Coming off of his first shutout this postseason, we can expect at least a couple of shots to fall for New York, who rung several off of the goalposts in Game 1.
We’re banking on Mika Zibanejad to contribute on a scoring possession, since he’s done so in 15 of the Rangers’ last 17 games played, while investing in Sam Reinhart to record at least three shots on goal during regulation. If these two legs hit, we’re left with New York covering the puck line as home underdogs. Obviously, we need to avoid another 3-0 loss and an empty-net goal if the Rangers are down by one late in the third period and pull Shesterkin.
However, we’ve seen Shesterkin play out of his mind in several playoff games thus far. New York should be able to make Game 2 much more competitive in an attempt to even this Eastern Conference Finals series against the Panthers on Friday night.
Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros & FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.