| The New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils open their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series Wednesday night at the Prudential Center.
New York (42-27-13) has dominated the season series with the Devils (46-29-7), winning seven meetings heading into their season-finale matchup Sunday. The Rangers have won 10 of the past 15 against the Devils and three straight in New Jersey.
But it was a different story Sunday, as Patrik Elias scored in the fourth round of the shootout as the Devils posted a 3-2 victory over the Rangers to secure home-ice advantage in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
The score went over the over/under total of 4½.
There is a big under trend between the teams, which explains why the opening game has one of the lowest over/under totals (4½) in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. The total has gone under in six of the past nine meetings in New Jersey, in six of the Rangers’ past nine on the road, and in 10 of the Rangers’ past 15 overall.
New Jersey is 8-4 SU in its past 12 at home against the Rangers.
The Rangers are expected to have Henrik Lundqvist in goal while the Devils will start all-star Martin Brodeur.
BETTING LINE: The Devils are a -130 moneyline favorite at BetOnline.com. The over/under total is 4½.
BETTING CONSENSUS: The Rangers are getting 52 per cent of the betting action as a +115 moneyline underdog.
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