Sportsinteraction

Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

NY Rangers -1½ +240 over Boston

8:00 PM EST. Boston gets the home opener, the loud building, the new captain and enough ceremony to make you wonder whether we are here for a hockey game or the Academy Awards. Wonderful. Let them have the red carpet. We’re taking the Rangers to walk into TD Garden and ruin the evening. New York has spent the summer rebuilding the supporting cast around its established core, and this is a much deeper group than the one that spent last season wandering around looking for answers.

The biggest reason to take the pretty-looking number is Igor Shesterkin. He gives New York the luxury of playing a road game without needing to chase it from the opening faceoff. Boston can spend the first 20 minutes feeling wonderful about itself while Shesterkin quietly turns the Bruins' best opportunities into harmless souvenirs. The Rangers also have enough size and skill up front to make Boston pay once the game opens up. New York doesn't need a track meet; it needs a couple of mistakes from Boston and then it can make the Bruins spend the rest of the night chasing.

Boston is getting plenty of respect because last year's results are sitting right there on the page. Fine. Put them on the page and frame them. We’re interested in what happens tonight. The Bruins have a new captain, a home crowd expecting a celebration and a team that will be under pressure to provide the happy ending. New York has no such responsibility. The Rangers can walk into this building, play the spoiler and leave the Bruins explaining to the local media how, the introductions and the fancy opening-night video somehow ended with everybody going home miserable.

This is a shot, no question about it, and we love the number. Taking New York -1½ at the beefed-up price means we are asking the Rangers to do more than simply win, but that is precisely why we're getting paid properly. Shesterkin can steal stretches of this game, the Rangers have added depth and Boston has the burden of putting on the show. Give us the road team, give us the big number and let Boston keep the commemorative programs.

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