Analysis
Rangers vs Devils Prediction, Picks & Odds (Oct 15, 2026)
By SportsHub Model · Edited by Kyle Parker
The 20-second version
- Our pick: Rangers moneyline +118 (medium confidence). The model makes New York a 65% winner, while the price implies about 46%.
- New York allows 1.75 goals per game, less than half of New Jersey's 3.67.
- Third-string goalie Dylan Garand (.951 SV%, 1.15 GAA) starts again with Igor Shesterkin out for the season.
- The Devils' best path is the power play (23.8%, 7th). Their penalty kill (70.6%, 27th) is the soft spot.
The New York Rangers (6-2-0) visit the New Jersey Devils (3-3-0) Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Prudential Center (MSG / MSG Sportsnet 2). The Devils are home favorites at -135 to -143 across licensed books. But the Rangers allow just 1.75 goals per game to New Jersey's 3.67, and their third-string goalie keeps stopping almost everything. Our pick: Rangers moneyline +118 (medium confidence).
Rangers: winning with the third goalie
New York has scored 27 and allowed 14 in eight games, a +13 goal differential, and is 5-0-0 at home. The worry was the crease. Igor Shesterkin is out for the season after a leg injury at Washington on Oct. 9, and backup Joonas Korpisalo is on injured reserve.
That handed the net to Dylan Garand, and the 24-year-old has answered: 3-1, 1.15 GAA, .951 save percentage. He beat Tampa Bay 4-1 on Tuesday for his second straight win, and he gets the start again tonight.
Alexis Lafrenière scored twice in that game and carries a five-game point streak (7 goals, 3 assists this season). Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle also scored.
Devils: power play up, penalty kill down
New Jersey is 3-3-0 with 16 goals for and 22 against. The power play works: 5-for-21 (23.8%), seventh in the NHL. The penalty kill doesn't: 70.6%, 27th. The Devils have been outscored 8-3 in third periods and are 0-3-0 when trailing after two.
They won 5-4 in overtime at Detroit on Tuesday, with Jack Hughes scoring the winner and adding two assists. Hughes leads the team with 8 points and has 35 points in 26 career games against the Rangers. Jake Allen is the projected starter. A win would be Sheldon Keefe's 300th as an NHL coach.
Key matchup: Garand vs the Devils' power play
The gap in goal is the story. Garand's .951 save percentage against Allen's .885 is a big difference at the position that matters most.
New Jersey's clearest path is the power play, where Nico Hischier has scored all three of his goals. If the Rangers stay out of the box, Garand faces a team that has struggled to score at even strength and late in games.
One warning for Rangers backers: New Jersey has won its last three home meetings in this series by a combined 15-3.
Who's missing
The Rangers are down to their third goalie, with Shesterkin done for the season and Korpisalo on IR. Forwards Joe Veleno and Adam Sykora are also on injured reserve.
New Jersey is without center Nick Bjugstad and defenseman Seamus Casey (both IR). Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler and forward Luke Evangelista (illness) are day-to-day, and Connor Brown (lower body) is on injured reserve. If those three sit, the Devils' depth thins out against a Rangers team that has won the third period all season.
Rangers vs Devils Prediction
Pick: Rangers moneyline +118 (medium confidence).
- Defense travels. New York allows 1.75 goals per game, less than half of New Jersey's 3.67.
- Garand has earned the trust. He owns a .951 save percentage to Allen's .885.
- Price vs model. Our model makes the Rangers a 65% winner, while +114 to +120 implies about 46%.
- New Jersey's penalty kill (70.6%, 27th) hands a hot Rangers top six extra chances.
The risk: Garand has only a handful of NHL starts, and the Devils have dominated this building lately (15-3 over three home meetings). If the Rangers take penalties, New Jersey's power play can flip it.
The total sits at 6 to 6.5 at licensed books. With New York's defense on one side and New Jersey's leaky one on the other, we don't have a play on it.
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