New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/15/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Venue:  Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Rangers +170, Lightning -205; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Rangers +170, Lightning -200; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Rangers +170, Lightning -200; Over/Under:  6 goals

New York Rangers:  33-39-9 (8th place, Metropolitan Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  50-25-6 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

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New York Rangers:  5-5-0 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  6-4-0 last 10

The Rangers are entering this game with 75 points, a 33-39-9 record overall, and they are 19-19-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Florida Panthers in their last game, losing that one on the road 3-2. Gabe Perreault and Matthew Robertson each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Adam Fox, Alexis Lafrenière, and Noah Laba each led the team in assists with 1 while Vincent Trocheck led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Jonathan Quick was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 17 shots with 14 saves and a .824 save percentage. Their offense has scored 234 goals this season averaging 2.9 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 248 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering this game with 106 points, a 50-25-6 record overall, and they are 26-13-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Detroit Red Wings in their last game, winning that one at home 4-3 in overtime. Nikita Kucherov, Conor Geekie, Erik Černák, and Jake Guentzel each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Janis Moser, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ryan McDonagh, and Zemgus Girgensons each led the team in assists with 1 while Nikita Kucherov led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 30 shots with 27 saves and a .900 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 288 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 227 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Lightning listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Lightning have looked really good in their games this season with their 50-25-6 record overall which has them right near the top of their division in the East. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-13-1 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Rangers have looked terrible in their games this season with their 33-39-9 record overall which has them right at the bottom of their division in the East. They haven't been a good road team either with their 19-19-2 road record this year. The Rangers have been a disaster all season and have been eliminated from playoff contention. They haven't looked great to end the regular season either, going 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and losing 3 games in a row now. The Lightning have looked a lot better lately and even though they have already clinched a playoff spot, they still have something to play for here. The Lightning can no longer win the division, but they are tied with the Canadiens for points and they are fighting for home advantage in that first round of the playoffs. They have looked good lately too, going 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and they have some momentum on their side with 2 wins in a row now. The Lightning aren't going to take their foot off the gas here now that they have been playing much better lately and they are going to bring their best effort to finish the regular season strong and earn that home advantage in the first round. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lightning to win this game and on the puckline. 

Rangers Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Wednesday, April 15, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Lightning 4 Rangers 1.

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New York Rangers: 136-124 (-18.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 35-58 (-15.4 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 to +200. 60-67 (-9.2 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 30-20 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 

Tampa Bay Lightning: 79-45 (+15.9 units) on the moneyline after playing a home game. 93-49 (+14.4 units) on the moneyline against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game. 108-72 (+11.7 units) on the moneyline against excellent power play teams- scoring on over 17.5% of their chances. 20-11 UNDER against poor offensive teams - averaging 26.5 shots on goal per game or less.

New York Rangers:  U. Vaakanainen (D) Out - Upper-body. M. Rempe (C) Out For Season - Thumb.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  J. Johansson (G) Day To Day - Undisclosed. B. Hagel (LW) Day To Day - Lower-Body. D. Raddysh (D) Day To Day - Undisclosed. P. Holmberg (RW) Out - Upper-Body. V. Hedman (D) Out - Personal. D. James (C) Out - Leg. M. Crozier (D) Out - Abdomen.

“I thought we had our moments. The third period, the second half of the game, I thought we carried the play. It was a struggle to find the back of the net. We had some really good looks in the third period. Give Florida credit, they were opportunistic. The chances they had, they buried. (Quick) played well for us. This was a celebration for him. As we talked about after the game, he is an inspiration to all of us.” - Mike Sullivan after his team’s loss against the Panthers in their game on Monday. 

"We had a couple of slip ups and they nearly cost us. 'Vasy' made some big saves for us. Were we fine? Yes. But you can't give up 2-on-1s like we did. On the big picture we were fine." - Jon Cooper after his team’s win against the Red Wings in their game on Monday. 

LW Gabe Perreault

C Mika Zibanejad

RW Alexis Lafreniere

LD Vladislav Gavrikov

RD Adam Fox

G Jonathan Quick

LW Gage Goncalves

C Anthony Cirelli

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Janis Jérôme Moser

RD Darren Raddysh

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Mika Zibanejad (76)

Goals: Mika Zibanejad (33)

Assists: Adam Fox (44)

GAA: Igor Shesterkin (2.50)

Points: Nikita Kucherov (130)

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (44)

Assists: Nikita Kucherov (86)

GAA: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.31)

Coaches:

New York Rangers: Mike Sullivan (1st season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (14th season)