The Tampa Bay Lightning have a final tuneup for the NHL playoffs as they face the New York Rangers. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Lightning-Rangers prediction and pick. The Lightning come into the game at 47-26-8 on the year, which has secured the Lightning’s home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL playoffs. In their last game, they faced the Florida Panthers. Brayden Points, Conor Geekie, and Jake Guentzel all scored in the first period to give the Lightning the lead. Nikita Kucherov would add a goal in the second period before Brad Marchand scored for Florida. The Lightning would score one more in the third period, on their way to a 5-1 victory. Meanwhile, the Rangers are 38-26-7, which has eliminated the Rangers from playoff contention. In their last game, they also faced the Florida Panthers. Sam Reinhart opened the scoring, but Matt Rempe would tie the game. In the second period, the Panthers would score two early goals, but Juuso Parssinen and JT Miller both scored to tie the game. Then in the third period, Vincent Trochek and Jonny Brodzinski both scored, and the Rangers would go on to win the game 5-3. Here are the Lightning-Rangers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel. NHL Odds: Lightning-Rangers Odds Tampa Bay Lightning: +1.5 (-215) Moneyline: +115 New York Rangers: -1.5 (+172) Moneyline: -138 Over: 5.5 (-134) Under: 5.5 (+110) How To Watch Lightning vs Rangers Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT *Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)* Why the Lightning Will Cover the Spread/Win The top line for the Lightning is led by Nikita Kucherov. He leads the team in assists and points this year, coming in with 37 goals and 84 assists, good for 121 total points. He is joined on the top line by Brayden Point, who, while sitting third on the team in points, leads the team in goals. Point has 42 goals and 40 assists this year, good for 79 points. The line is rounded out by Yanni Gourde. Gourde has a goal and 13 assists in his 20 games with the Lightning. Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel lead the second line. Hagel comes in with 35 goals and 55 assists this year, sitting second on the team in points with 90 total points. Guentzel comes in with 41 goals and 29 assists this year. They are joined on the second line by Anthony Cirelli. Cirelli comes in with 27 goals and 32 assists. Finally, Victor Hedman has 15 goals and 51 assists this year, good for 66 points, placing the blue liner fifth on the team in points. Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to be in the goal for the Lightning in this game. He is 38-20-5 on the year, with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. In his last five starts, Vasilevskiy is 2-1-2 and has allowed two or fewer goals in three of the five games. Why the Rangers Will Cover the Spread/Win Artemi Panarin, who leads the team in goals, assists, and points this year, leads the top line for the Rangers. He comes into the game with 37 goals and 52 assists, good for 89 total points. He also has eight goals and 18 assists on the power play. Panarin is joined on the top line by Vincent Trocheck and Alexia Lafreniere. Trocheck is fourth on the team in points with 25 goals and 33 assists. Lafreniere is fifth on the team in points with 17 goals and 28 assists. Meanwhile, Adam Fox is second on the team in points, playing from the blue line. He comes into the game with ten goals and 51 assists this year. Further, Mika Zibanejad has been great from the second line. He is third on the team in points with 18 goals and 41 assists. He is joined by JT Miller, who has 13 goals and 21 assists in his 31 games with the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin is expected to be in the goal for the Rangers in this one. He is 26-29-5 on the year with a 2.91 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. He is 2-3-0 in his last five games, but has given up three or more goals in four of the last five games. Final Lightning-Rangers Prediction & Pick The Rangers come into this NHL game as favorites in terms of odds. One reason is that the Lightning could be resting star players or Andrei Vasilevsky as they prepare for their playoff run. Still, the Rangers have not been good as of late. They have lost five of their last seven games, and in the process have allowed 29 goals in seven games. The Lightning score 3.60 goals per game this year, and while they have won just three of their last five, they have scored 23 goals in the process. Take the Lightning in this one. Final Lightning-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Lightning ML (+115)