New York Rangers vs Detroit Red Wings Prediction, 10/2/2026 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Rangers vs Detroit Red Wings

Date: Friday, October 2, 2026

Location: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI

TV: MSG Network, Detroit SportsNet

Odds/Point Spread: Rangers (+120) Red Wings (-130)

Little Caesars Arena is the location where the Detroit Red Wings (41-31-10 last year) will go up against the New York Rangers (34-39-9 last season) on Friday. The moneyline on this contest has the Rangers at +120 while the Red Wings are priced at -130. The total is set at 6.

The New York Rangers will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3-0 loss to the Bruins in their previous outing. New York accrued 2 minutes in the box for this game. The Rangers had a below average offensive performance in the defeat. They also had 1 power play chance but didn't get a goal. For the outing, they ended the night with no scores out of the 24 shots they attempted.

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At even strength, the Rangers allowed the opponent to score 199 goals while scoring 182. New York Rangers opponents had 249 power play tries (7th in the league) and racked up 50 goals in those attempts. In terms of their scoring, the New York Rangers earned 235 goals (23rd in the NHL) for the prior year and conceded 249. New York attempted 2,066 shots and were the owners of a shooting percentage of 11.4%. For the previous season, they accumulated 77 points and their points percentage was at .470. The Rangers had 2,363 shots tried against them and held a save percentage of .895. New York tallied 215 power play chances and tallied 53 goals out of those advantages, giving them a percentage of 24.65%.

The player between the pipes for this game is Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin has been in net for 325 contests during his pro hockey career. He has accumulated an overall mark of 187-107-28 and he was named the starter in 320 games. Opponents have been able to score 796 goals against Shesterkin in his pro hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.49. Shesterkin has had 9,534 shots against him and has recorded 8,738 saves. His save percentage sits at .917 in his 14,648 mins in the crease. For his professional hockey career, Shesterkin has tallied 201 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .628.

When they took the ice last, Detroit faced off against the Panthers in an outing where the Red Wings went home in defeat by a final of 8-1. The Red Wings notched 1 goal out of the 26 shots on goal they pursued. They had 3 opportunities on the power play in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net.

The Red Wings tallied 183 goals at even strength and 56 goals (9th in professional hockey) while having a power play advantage. Detroit has tried 2,315 shots (11th in the NHL) and accumulated a shooting percentage of 10.32%, while allowing the opposition 2,275 shots. Last season, the Detroit Red Wings earned 239 goals, 92 points, in addition to a points percentage of .561. They permitted 254 goals to be scored by way of 206 goals at even strength and 48 goals while they were shorthanded. They earned 248 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 22.58%. They earned a penalty kill rate of 77.14% on their opponent's 210 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage was 88.8%.

Across the rink you are likely to see John Gibson protecting the goal. He is sitting with 15,350 stops out of the 16,881 shots taken against him, giving him a save percentage of .909. Gibson is the owner of a lifetime mark of 233-239-67 and has played in 563 games. He got the starting nod in 551 contests and has played 26,951 mins. Gibson's percentage of quality starts is 53.9% and he has accumulated 297 quality starts in his career. Teams are averaging 2.78 goals/game and he has conceded 1,531 goals overall.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony's Pick: Take New York (+120)

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