LOS ANGELES — There has been nothing opportunistic about this Rangers team since the start of the season.

At times, it has been bad puck luck. A matter of effort in others. Execution hasn’t been nearly as consistent as they would like, either.

In a 4-3 loss to the Kings Tuesday night, however, the Blueshirts whiffed on several moments with game-changing potential to drop their 10th contest in their last 12.

They trailed just 18 seconds into the game.

While facing a one-goal deficit, a five-on-three power play for 1:36 was wasted.

A failed clearing attempt ended up in the back of their net shortly after.

And with momentum on their side early in the third period, the Rangers couldn’t translate it to the scoreboard until it was too late.

It resulted in the Blueshirts falling to 1-2 on the road trip so far with one more stop in San Jose to go.

“How many times have I talked to you guys about critical moments in games?” head coach Mike Sullivan asked reporters rhetorically Tuesday night. “The start of periods, start of games, last minute, after a goal scored, after a fight. Those are critical moments in games where teams have an opportunity to build momentum. I do think we responded. I thought we responded after it. It’s 2-2 after the first period. I felt like we did respond, but it’s an instance where there’s just not a lot of attention to detail there.”

The Rangers were caught flat-footed off the opening faceoff.

A one-and-done dump into the offensive zone — a specialty of this Rangers team — led to an odd-man rush the other way for the Kings.

Adrien Kempe buried one off a give-and-go with Brandt Clarke to open the scoring just 18 seconds into the game.

Poor puck management was at the crux of the Rangers’ loss in Anaheim, and it cost them again early Tuesday night.

After Scott Morrow’s shot from the top of the zone hit off Will Cuylle and in to tie it up, the Rangers gave it right back.

Shortly after LA welcomed him back to Crypto.com Arena with a jumbotron tribute, Vladislav Gavrikov turned the puck over right to the stick of Kevin Fiala for the 2-1 Kings lead.

Mika Zibanejad made up for it by continuing the absolute tear he’s currently on.

Feeding J.T. Miller crashing the net for the two-all score, Zibanejad extended his point streak to 10 games.

He has collected an eye-catching nine goals and 10 assists over that span.

Darcy Kuemper exited the game at the end of the first period, after the Kings’ goalie denied Jonny Brodzinski on a breakaway.

Unable to skate it off, Kuemper headed to the locker room, and Anton Forsberg manned the net in relief for the remainder of the game.

The Kings added two more in the second period, while the Rangers failed to take advantage of prime chances.

Braden Schneider had a particularly rough middle frame, in which he inadvertently set up the Kings’ 3-2 score before taking back-to-back penalties.

The puck bounced off Schneider’s stick and right to Taylor Ward for the go-ahead goal at the 4:23 mark.

After they failed to convert on a 5-on-3 power play, the visitors couldn’t clear the puck later in the period. Andrei Kuzmenko then knocked in a rebound to give his team a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission.

“That was a big moment in the game,” Miller said of the two-man advantage. “They scored right after that to go up two. The same as yesterday [against the Ducks], I don’t know how I didn’t score in the last five minutes of that game. It kind of felt the same today with some of the looks that [Vincent Trocheck] got. It’s not going in … I think we’re happy with the execution. At the end of the night, we can sleep well knowing that you’re doing the right things. You have to believe that if you keep doing the right things then the puck will go in the net.”

SEATTLE — Max Tsyplakov’s return to the lineup for the Islanders’ 4-3 win over the Canucks on Monday marked a nadir in what’s been a messy sophomore season in the NHL for the Russian winger.

After being on for two goals against in the first period, and plainly looking like he lacked confidence, Tsyplakov played just two shifts in the second and zero in the third.

“It’s on me,” coach Patrick Roy said afterward, falling on his sword to avoid criticizing the player. “He didn’t play a bad game. Just, he hasn’t played a lot and sometimes when that happens, you just want to go with the guys that you think you’ve got the best chance to win [with].

“He’s probably gonna be back in against Seattle. Hopefully I can use him more.”

Keeping Tsyplakov in the lineup against the Kraken on Wednesday, assuming that is the route Roy goes, would be a highly interesting move.

On one hand, it’s obvious that Tsyplakov needs a confidence boost, and that he’s not going to recover his game without some time to work through it.

On the other, it doesn’t help Tsyplakov — let alone the Islanders — if he’s nailed to the bench and the team is effectively down to 11 forwards.

Tsyplakov put together a strong first half last season, and finished the year with 35 points despite fading late.

The 27-year-old who scored 30 goals with Spartak Moscow in the KHL probably won’t ever do the same thing in the NHL, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be an effective middle-six player.

Right now, though, his lack of confidence and Roy’s lack of trust in him appear to be working hand in hand to sabotage the situation.

Roy, when announcing that Tsyplakov would come back in the lineup against Vancouver after sitting three straight games, also took a hard left turn when he brought up Tsyplakov’s last KHL season, saying he wanted the winger to be a power forward and get pucks to the net.

That may not have directly contradicted his prior messaging to the player. But for most of the last calendar year, Roy has preached responsibility with the puck and playing north as keys for Tsyplakov to stay in the lineup.

For a player whose confidence was already low, the sudden change there may not have helped matters.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

Roy, who hasn’t hesitated to criticize his players in the past, steadfastly refused to do so postgame.

“I’m not saying he was struggling. Sometimes [it’s] just coaching,” he said. “You just go with your feeling and it’s nothing personal on this one.”

The Islanders did not practice Tuesday in Seattle.

SEATTLE — Since junior hockey, Anthony Duclair had never changed anything about his stick. That flex, that curvature — it worked for him, so why touch it?

Except, when the calendar turned to the new year, it was no longer working the same way. Duclair had scored only once in his past 26 games, just four times in the season’s first 39 games and was made a healthy scratch in the Islanders’ first two games of 2026.

This season wasn’t as overtly miserable as last year’s for Duclair — he was healthy, and his relationship with Patrick Roy appeared fine — but he was languishing in the bottom six, showing little sign of recovering his scoring touch.

“At some point, I was tired. I was like, ‘I need to change something,’ ” Duclair said after the Islanders beat the Canucks 4-3 on Monday night. “I just grabbed [Casey Cizikas’] stick after practice.”

And?

“My shot was just unbelievable.

“I was like, ‘Screw it. I’m gonna use it.”

The next game, Duclair scored on his first shot of the night. Then he scored two more times, and assisted two more goals for a five-point performance against the Devils. It was the first five-point hat trick for an Islander in five years, and the best scoring output in a game of Duclair’s career.

So, yeah. He told equipment manager Jason Berger to order him a shipment of sticks to Cizikas’ specifications.

“Totally different model, curve, everything,” Duclair said. “I put my stick in the garbage. I’m using Cizikas’ now.”

Call it a coincidence, call it a placebo, call it whatever you want. But it is working.

In seven games with the new twig, Duclair has seven goals, including two Monday night in Vancouver that served to wake up the Islanders amid a woeful start to the game.

“I feel like he’s shooting with a lot of confidence,” coach Patrick Roy said. “For some reason, he’s positioning [himself] well. He scored two on this trip in the power play in the pocket. I thought that was a really nice shot from the side. Great feed by our guys, he took advantage of it. He deserves credit for that.”

Seven goals, by the way, is as many as he had all of last season.

The Islanders have been challenged for scoring throughout this seven-game trip which ends Wednesday night against the Kraken.

They’re missing Bo Horvat, their leading scorer, and Kyle Palmieri, who potted 24 goals a year ago, and the cracks have started to show.

Even with Horvat set to return from a lower-body injury before the Olympic break (Palmieri is done for the season with an ACL tear), scoring is a need Mathieu Darche may need to address before the trade deadline.

If Duclair can keep up this output and be the top-line player the Islanders thought they were getting a year ago, though, it might change that equation, or at least lessen the urgency a smidge. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

His chemistry with Mat Barzal, long dormant since the Islanders spent the 2024 preseason with the two of them together on the top line, has reignited. He’s clicked with Cal Ritchie too, with the pair combining for two power-play goals on this trip, both in similar fashion (and, yes, if Duclair can help spark the power play, that too would be a game-changer for the Islanders).

For now, it’s still too small a sample size to avoid some caution, though Duclair has certainly earned a lasting stay in the top six even when Horvat comes back and pushes someone out.

If it really was as easy as changing up his stick, though, then maybe the Islanders have just solved one of their problems.

LOS ANGELES — The Rangers’ announcement of their plans to retool naturally coincided with Gabe Perreault’s return to the top line. 

Now that the Blueshirts have decided to take a step back, recalibrate and make some personnel changes, Perreault is at the top of the list of players who can be managed more strategically going forward this season. Development has long been a critique of this organization, but circumstances are looking different than previously. 

Skating on the first unit with Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller for a third straight game Tuesday against the Kings, Perreault is starting to find his footing at the NHL level. 

“It’s obviously nice playing with guys like that,” Perreault told The Post before the Rangers set out on the current road trip. “They’ve been here for a long time and kind of make it easy on me. Sometimes, it’s not always easy playing top line, top D-pair. It makes it harder in that sense. But I think since my first time in the top six, now I’m definitely more comfortable and more used to it, in a way. I hope to just keep getting better and more comfortable.”

The 20-year-old sure looked confident in the final minutes of regulation Monday night, when he was streaking toward the Ducks net and flipped to his backhand before Jackson LaCombe got his stick in the way at the last second. 

It was a one-goal game at the time, and Perreault attacked the net like it was. 

He’s had the puck on his stick a lot more. And after failing to record a single shot in half of his first six games, Perreault has only had two such performances over his 11 games since. 

“Gabe had a hell of a game [against the Ducks],” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said Monday night. “I think maybe [he] did a lot of things that people watching don’t see. Obviously, he’s a really gifted player with the puck. It’s how he’s made a name for himself at this point. That being said, he was in such good spots all over the rink today. You can tell he’s learning a lot as he goes. He’s trying to be a sponge and it’s fun to play with. 

“He’s just going to get better as he gets going, but I think today, his play without the puck was better. He was good with the puck, but I’m saying his play without the puck really stood out to me.”

In an otherwise disappointing effort against the Senators last week, Perreault recorded the first multigoal effort of his young NHL career. His three goals and four assists through 17 games indicate his game could be coming. 

The more he plays with top six caliber talent the more opportunities he has to cement himself there. 

In 58:13 of 5-on-5 ice time with Zibanejad and Miller, the trio has been on the ice for seven Rangers goals and three against, per Natural Stat Trick. The two veterans have said they enjoy skating alongside one another for the versatility at center. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

If Perreault can seize the top-line wing role early, it would be one less thing for the Rangers to address in the retool. 

“I think he’s getting quicker with his decision-making,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of the rookie. “I think his foot speed picking up and the game is probably slowing down in his brain, also. I think that’s all happening at the same time. That’s just the process so. He makes a handful of plays every night. He almost scores in the third period there to tie it up [Monday night]. He plays the game with a lot of courage. I give him credit. He takes that puck to the far post. When you take it to the far post like that, usually you’re going to pay a price when that happens. 

“I think he plays the game with a lot of courage, his willingness to do those types of things. I think it just speaks to his competitiveness.”

Roope Hintz is quietly having another strong season, pacing for his fifth consecutive year of 65+ points.
 
After putting up zeros in back-to-back games, my Bruins vs. Stars predictions expect Hintz to get back on track on home soil.

Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for Tuesday, January 20.

Bruins vs Stars prediction

Bruins vs Stars best bet: Roope Hintz Over 0.5 points (-148)

Roope Hintz has produced offense consistently all year long, hitting the scoresheet in 61% of his appearances. That’s a very good number that becomes even better when excluding matchups against high-end defensive teams.

Isolating games vs. teams that rank 15th or worse in points allowed to opposing centers, Hintz has points in 18 of 25 games — a 72% hit rate.

The Boston Bruins have done an excellent job of keeping the puck out of late, but even so, their defensive numbers are nothing to write home about. They sit 15th in goals against per game and 22nd on the road.

Getting Hampus Lindholm back in the lineup will help Boston’s defense, but slowing down Hintz and this loaded Dallas Stars offense is still a big ask.

It’s also worth noting Hintz picked up a point in four of the last five games in which he centered Jason Robertson and Mavrik Bourque, which is expected to be the case tonight.

Bruins vs Stars same-game parlay

Jason Robertson is as hot as anybody when it comes to scoring goals. His 24 since November 11 puts him just one back of Connor McDavid for the league-lead in that time.

Miro Heiskanen has averaged 2.5 shots on 4.7 attempts in Dallas, clearing his line at a 77% clip. The Bruins rank 26th in shots allowed against defensemen, so they’re unlikely to offer resistance.

Bruins vs Stars SGP

• Roope Hintz Over 0.5 points
• Jason Robertson anytime goalscorer
• Miro Heiskanen Over 1.5 shots

Bruins vs Stars odds

• Moneyline: Bruins +130 | Stars -150
• Puck Line: Bruins +1.5 (-190) | Stars -1.5 (+160)
• Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-135) | Under 5.5 (+115)

Bruins vs Stars trend

Roope Hintz has points in three consecutive games against Boston. Find more NHL betting trends for Bruins vs. Stars.

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Bruins vs Stars latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The Winnipeg Jets land a soft matchup to snap a two-game losing streak, with the road-weary St. Louis Blues visiting the Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, January 20.

My top Blues vs. Jets predictions and NHL picks are calling for Winnipeg to capitalize with a win on home ice tonight.

Blues vs Jets prediction

Blues vs Jets best bet: Jets moneyline (-120)

We’re landing a soft price on the Winnipeg Jets, with them playing the second leg of a back-to-back set and for the third time in four nights.

Still, the St. Louis Blues aren’t a good hockey team and sport a 7-13-3 road record while allowing the third-most goals per game (3.74) and eighth-most expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

The Jets have also won four of their past six while scoring 3.83 goals per game and generating the seventh-most xGF per 60 at 5-on-5. 

Eric Comrie should have a solid start in net. He posted a rock-solid .914 save percentage and 2.39 GAA in backup duty last season and stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 5-1 home win over the Kings last time out.

The Blues have also scored the fewest goals per game (2.43) in the NHL.

Blues vs Jets same-game parlay

With St. Louis singing the defensive blues on the road, Winnipeg winger Alex Iafallo is positioned to stay hot. He’s been logging top-line minutes and picked up a point in four of his past five games while skating with stars Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.

Jets winger Cole Perfetti rounds out the parlay, and he’s shown off an uptick in shot volume to clear this total in nine of his past 13 games for 27 total shots on 57 attempts.

Blues vs Jets SGP

• Jets moneyline
• Alex Iafallo Over 0.5 points
• Cole Perfetti Over 1.5 shots on goal

Blues vs Jets odds

• Moneyline: Blues +110 | Jets -130
• Puck Line: +1.5 (-225) | Jets -1.5 (+185)
• Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-135) | Under 5.5 (+115)

Blues vs Jets trend

The St. Louis Blues have only covered the puck line in one of their last eight road games (-8.95 Units / -77% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Blues vs. Jets.

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Blues vs Jets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Rangers attacked their first back-to-back set of games without their No. 1 goaltender, beginning with Monday night’s 5-3 loss to the Ducks.

Spencer Martin stopped 21 of the 25 shots he saw in the defeat, while Jonathan Quick is slated to face his former team in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Asked if Quick’s 16-year history with the Kings factored into the decision to play him in the second game, coach Mike Sullivan left nothing for interpretation.

“It does,” he said with a smile. “Without a doubt, it for sure does. I think Quickie deserves that.”

Since the Kings traded him to Columbus, which flipped him to Vegas in March 2023, Quick has faced the club that drafted him 72nd overall in 2005 three times as a Ranger.

He has yet to win in Los Angeles, however, after the Blueshirts fell 2-1 in his return to the city in January 2024.

Appearing in relief in one of his previous three games against the Kings, Quick owns a 1-1 record and a .952 save percentage against his former team.

The 39-year-old Quick got a run of five consecutive games from Jan. 5-12 amid Igor Shesterkin’s injured reserve designation.

Since Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury, Quick has posted a .786 save percentage (22 goals on 103 shots) and an 0-4-1 record.

His 5.78 goals-against average over that span is the highest — by a considerable margin — among NHL goalies who have appeared in at least five games since Jan. 5.

The Rangers haven’t helped Quick much in front of him. The Connecticut native has also been pulled twice in his past three games.

Martin, who signed a two-year contract with the Rangers in November, made his Rangers debut in relief in Boston. Since then, Martin has owned a .852 save percentage and a 4.16 GAA.

He picked up his first victory with the Blueshirts in a 25-save performance in Philadelphia.

“I thought he played well,” Sullivan said of Martin in Philly. “I thought he made some key saves for us, in particular in the third period [against the Flyers]. We felt like he played well. The reality is, we’re going to need two goalies given the workload of games leading up to the Olympic break. We’ll continue to monitor that. We thought he played real well the other day.”

Carson Soucy joined the Rangers for morning skate in Anaheim but did not suit up Monday night.

“He’s had a long trip coming back, hasn’t skated in three days,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t think it was the right thing to do to put him in right away.”

The Ottawa Senators need to string together wins before the playoffs are out of reach, and they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena tonight.

My Senators vs. Blue Jackets predictions and NHL picks are calling for Ottawa to return to the wins column in the Buckeye State tonight.

Senators vs Blue Jackets prediction

Senators vs Blue Jackets best bet: Senators moneyline (-110)

The saves are coming for the Ottawa Senators because their league-low .887 team save percentage at 5-on-5 is unsustainable given they’re doing so much else right.

Ottawa ranks fifth in both Corsi For percentage and expected goals percentage at 5-on-5, and the Sens also rank seventh in power-play percentage. Add the Senators having their entire roster healthy, and the goaltending script is set up to be flipped.

This is as good a night as any, too. The Columbus Blue Jackets have middling ranks in both CF% and xGF% at 5-on-5, and they’ve allowed the second-most shots per game and fifth-most attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

So, even if the goaltending falters, the Sens can also score their way to a win.

Senators vs Blue Jackets same-game parlay

Sens winger Drake Batherson has marked the scoresheet in six of his past nine games, and he’s put up a high-end 1.41 goals and 3.26 points per 60 minutes to pace the Sens for the year in both. The Blue Jackets have also allowed the ninth-most goals per game (3.13).

Rounding out the SGP, I’m eyeing Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot in the shot market. He’s picked up 2+ in 11 of 15 games since returning to the lineup for 31 total on 85 attempts, and Columbus has surrendered the sixth-most shots per game to opposing defensemen.

Senators vs Blue Jackets SGP

• Senators moneyline
• Drake Batherson Over 0.5 points
• Thomas Chabot Over 1.5 shots on goal

Senators vs Blue Jackets odds

• Moneyline: Senators -110 | Blue Jackets -110
• Puck Line: Senators +1.5 (-275) | Blue Jackets -1.5 (+210)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 | Under 6.5

Senators vs Blue Jackets trend

The Senators have covered the puck line in seven of their last 10 road games for +6.30 units and a 40% ROI. Find more NHL betting trends for Senators vs. Blue Jackets.

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Senators vs Blue Jackets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The Montreal Canadiens draw the Minnesota Wild in a favorable schedule spot with the two teams hitting the ice at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, January 20.

Minnesota is playing for the second consecutive night and third time in four days, so my Wild vs. Canadiens predictions and NHL picks call for Montreal capitalizing with center Oliver Kapanen continuing to pepper the net.

Wild vs Canadiens prediction

Wild vs Canadiens best bet: Oliver Kapanen Over 1.5 shots on goal (-130)

Montreal Canadiens center Oliver Kapanen has carved out a consistent top-six role and has recorded two or more shots in six of his past eight games for 19 total.

This should also prove to be a favorable matchup with the Minnesota Wild playing the second leg of a back-to-back road set and for the third time in three nights on the highway.

Minny also ranks 26th in Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5 while allowing the seventh-most shots per game (29.6).

Making matters worse for the Wild, go-to forwards Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body) and Matt Boldy (undisclosed) are both on injured reserve, and so is veteran blueliner Jonas Brodin (lower body).

Wild vs Canadiens same-game parlay

Montreal has a sizable rest advantage, having last played on Saturday, and Minnesota will likely turn to struggling backup Jesper Wallstedt in goal tonight.

Wallstedt has allowed three or more goals in six of his past seven starts, posting a .871 SV% and 3.97 GAA, with 4.07 goals saved below expected.

Noah Dobson has recorded two or more shots in eight of his past 12 games while logging a healthy 23:45 per night with 2:02 of power-play time.

Wild vs Canadiens SGP

• Canadiens -1.5 puck line
• Oliver Kapanen Over 1.5 shots on goal
• Noah Dobson Over 1.5 shots on goal

Wild vs Canadiens odds

• Moneyline: Wild +120 | Canadiens -140
• Puck Line: Wild +1.5 (-200) | Canadiens -1.5 (+165)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 (-105) | Under 6.5 (-115)

Wild vs Canadiens trend

The Montreal Canadiens have covered the puck line in 16 of their last 20 games (+14.30 Units / 42% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Wild vs. Canadiens.

How to watch Wild vs Canadiens

Wild vs Canadiens latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here