Rangers vs. Senators prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bet Thursday

It takes some creativity to compensate for 23:50 of ice time now missing from your lineup.

That was Mike Sullivan’s task in the Rangers’ first game without Adam Fox in their 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. 

Part of that solution was rolling with five forwards on the first power-play unit.

Although the Rangers’ power play, which began the season starved, has built traction with eight scores in its last 12 games, Sullivan’s remedy didn’t succeed in vitalizing the group; the Blueshirts ended the evening 0-for-5 with the man advantage. 

What it did do, however, was provide Artemi Panarin more looks on the net.

Panarin assumed Fox’s role as the unit’s quarterback, which mans the operation from the point by orchestrating flow.

The player who assumes this role gets the widest vantage point of the kill’s structure and reads the pressure to manufacture options. 

“When I switch with Foxy, I’ve been there a few times in the game, so it’s kind of not really new for me,” Panarin said. “I switch with him a lot, but now I gotta stay there. I like [playing the point] actually. I think I have more options and more play with the puck, which I like.”

Panarin finished the evening with five shots on goal and a pair of assists. 

He’s led the Rangers in assists in five of the six previous seasons, and when defenders shade toward his passing lanes to blunt his playmaking, he’s freed for some extra shooting windows.  

Panarin’s temporary role will be relied upon in Ottawa on Thursday against an emerging Senators team.

The Senators’ sound young defensive corps has allowed the fourth-fewest shots, along with the fewest overall high danger scoring chances per Natural Stat Trick.

The upside is that the Senators are the NHL’s worst overall penalty kill, faltering at a 68.4 percent rate. 

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Before Tuesday, Panarin hadn’t notched more than three shots in nine games, but he’s done so in 11 of 28. 

He registered three shots in both games he faced Ottawa last season. 

The Rangers’ improvement on the power play ahead of Fox’s injury almost entirely came on the road, where they succeeded at a 26.3 percent rate in contrast to 10.7 percent at home.

“I will try, obviously, being a little safer, trying to play a little safer up top,” Panarin said. “But I also can’t be, like, too conservative because it’s obviously not working like that.”

THE PLAY: Artemi Panarin Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-138, FanDuel)

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Why Trust New York Post Betting

Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.