New York Rangers – Los Angeles Kings: Panarin’s big return to MSG 
All eyes on Madison Square Garden tonight. For the first time since the trade, Artemi Panarin skates against his old club. Expect the crowd to explode.
But beyond the emotion, this matters. How will the Kings handle the East’s cellar-dwellers and keep their playoff hopes alive? We break down the form and serve our top pick.
Rangers on an unlikely roll 
Against the odds, the Eastern Conference’s worst team has woken up. Mike Sullivan’s men have rattled off four straight wins — their best run of the year. And they haven’t been hanging on: three of those were by three-plus goals (6-2 vs Philly, 4-0 vs Calgary, 6-3 vs Winnipeg) before beating Minnesota 4-2.
At home they’ve picked up points in five straight. They’re still lugging the league’s worst home attack (2.23 goals per game all season), but since the break they’ve tightened up — 3.60 goals per game recently. Roster news: giant Matt Rempe is expected to play, while J.T. Miller and Taylor Raddysh are back in the lineup, pushing Juuso Pärssinen and Jonny Brodzinski out.
Kings blowing hot and cold 
In California the Kings have been a rollercoaster for the last fortnight. D.J. Smith’s side can’t find a rhythm, swapping wins and losses. After a solid 3-2 win over the Islanders they got caught by the Devils 6-4. L.A. sit 10th in the West, just two points off the top eight.
On the road the form is patchy too, but the raw away points rate (61.8%) is very good — only three conference heavyweights do better. If you like tight games, the Kings are the masters of low-scoring affairs this season, averaging a meager 5.3 goals in regulation (the lowest total in the NHL).
Injuries: Joel Armia and Andrei Kuzmenko are still out. Big shout to captain Anze Kopitar, who just added another notch to his legacy by becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer (1308 points in 1505 games — huge respect).
NHL prediction New York Rangers vs Los Angeles Kings
Draw or Los Angeles Kings win
This one will taste different for Artemi Panarin. The “Breadman” admits he’s a little nervous about coming back to New York. But he’s a seasoned pro; he knows how to handle the heat. The Kings desperately need points and are one of the West’s best road teams.
Don’t be blinded by the Rangers’ recent surge. The season’s reality is brutal: they haven’t won in regulation in 18 of their last 20 home games. Add that L.A. have won the last four head-to-heads, and it becomes obvious why taking the “Double Chance X2” (Kings don’t lose in 60 minutes) is the smartest play tonight.
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