Two struggling NHL Eastern Conference sides will meet Wednesday evening when the New York Rangers host the Ottawa Senators in an exciting matchup at Madison Square Garden.
The Senators will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back after earning a desperately needed win over the last-place Vancouver Canucks at home Tuesday, in a game that was not as competitive as the 2-1 final suggested. For as ugly and dramatic as things have been lately for the Senators, they are still just six points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot with a game in hand.
Related: Check out Canada Sports Betting’s best NHL bets for Jan. 14 with our AI-generated audio recap.
Things look even more dire for the Rangers, who rank last in the Eastern Conference and have lost four straight matchups, following a surprising win in the Winter Classic, which felt to be a possible turning point. New York is just 5-12-4 on home ice this season, and has struggled mightily to generate offence at home.
It doesn’t feel like the year 2026 looking at the projected starting goaltending matchup, as James Reimer is expected to face off against Jonathan Quick.
Our same game parlay comes out to +650 at the time of writing and is eligible for the 50% same-game parlay boost offered by bet365 for Wednesday’s NHL slate.
- Mika Zibanejad Under 2.5 Shots on Goal
- Brady Tkachuk Anytime Goal-Scorer
- New York Rangers +1.5
Nick’s Senators/Rangers SGP
Leg 1—Mika Zibanejad Under 2.5 Shots on Goal
This might not be the most enticing leg to sweat out, as despite the Rangers’ struggles, Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin have been extremely productive of late skating on the top line. The two have been regular targets in my daily player prop pieces, including in Monday’s matchup versus the Kraken, and have been quite good to us.
With those things said, the Senators have been one of the best defensive teams in the league, and with Reimer likely to start in goal, it does seem logical to expect a game plan revolving around battened-down defensive play. Over the last 15 games, Ottawa has allowed only 24.56 shots against per 60, which is the fifth-best mark in the league.
While Zibanejad is playing quite well right now, he has still only recorded over 2.5 shots on goal in three of the last 10 matchups and has averaged 4.7 shot attempts per game in that span.
It’s a little ugly, but this prop seems to be a solid starting point with Zibanejad set to face off against a Senators side offering a high-quality top defensive pairing of Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub that suppresses shots against quite effectively.
Leg 2—Brady Tkachuk To Score
Though the Rangers have not found much success on home ice, they have generally defended quite well, which does work against this prop. However, over the last 10 games, the Rangers have allowed 3.90 goals against per game, which is in part due to the absences of Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin.
While some naysayers will like to dispute Fox’s effectiveness given that he is not overly physical nor fast, he has without a doubt been the most important Rangers skater over the last several seasons based on the team’s goal differentials with and without him on the ice.
Quick has also been sharp this season, but the Rangers are certainly still a more livable target for this prop with him in net as opposed to Shesterkin.
So with those thoughts in mind, I’m happy to back Tkachuk finding the back of the net based on how many chances he continues to generate on a nightly basis. Tkachuk ranks third among all NHL skaters to have played 200 minutes in individual expected goals generated per 60.
Leg 3—New York Rangers +1.5
There is some negative correlation with this leg and backing Tkachuk to score, which might make this look like an odd third leg. However, adding the Rangers +1.5 to our first two legs moves the parlay from +330 to +650 and unlocks the 50% boost, which has me believing it’s a solid option.
Though obviously the Rangers are more likely to lose by more than two goals in a matchup that involves a Tkachuk goal, it seems likely they can find some offence in Wednesday’s matchup without needing to generate all that many scoring chances.
Reimer was quietly respectable during the 2024-25 season in finishing with a .896 save percentage and 3.04 GAA in 24 appearances, but still, he’s now another year older and it’s obviously tough to jump into NHL action off of one AHL tune-up game, in which he finished with a GAA of 6.05.
The Senators are the better team, and in a seven-game series I’d love their chances. However, the Rangers catch them on the second leg of a back-to-back here, desperate to show a little pride on home ice and earn a rare win.
Considering the matchup versus Reimer, I think it’s quite realistic to think they can lose by two or less in a matchup which still involves a goal from Tkachuk.
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