Both the visiting Bruins and hosting Canucks have been on some wild adventures this week. Statistically, these are the two best teams in the NHL, each with 80 points. That said, it hasn’t been an easy ride for either since last Saturday, with Boston losing two of its four matches, all of which required extra time, and Vancouver going 0-4.

Here’s one you don’t see often. As for Friday night, both sides are pegged at -110 on the NHL odds moneyline. That said, Boston is -1.5 on the puckline.

Bruins vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds

The Bruins and Canucks collided a few weeks ago in Beantown, a matchup billed as a litmus test for both sides, perhaps more so the Canucks since they are the new hot team this season. It was anything but a contest, with the hosts winning 4-0. That was Boston third successive victory over the Canadian club, all of which were won by two goals or more. The Bruins have captured four of the five most recent games.

For such a strong team, the Bruins have hit rocky waters. The club has only won two of its last seven matches, to say nothing that they’ve covered the spread only once during that same stretch. That poor run of form has evened Boston’s record ATS to 29-29. Ironically, the last time the Bruins won a match in regulation was against these same Canucks on February 8. The only covered spread since then was the impressive OT win in Edmonton this week since they were underdogs.

Vancouver is now experiencing its first genuine challenge of the season. A challenge to their talent level, character, and ability to find ways to win when times are tough. The way they had been playing all season, a four-game slide seemed unthinkable, but here we are. What’s more, the streak is deserved. They haven’t been as good lately. Every loss was by two goals or more, and they gave up at least four goals in three of them. It goes without saying they haven’t covered any spreads during that span, although their season tally is a good 35-24.

Boston Bruins

It’s been a huge week for the Boston Bruins. Every game they played, win or lose, was close. So much so that they all needed overtime and in one case a shootout. The latest adventure was Thursday in Calgary against the Flames.

There have been more and more complaints about the quality of overtimes. Teams just circling around and waiting for the perfect moment to strike and whatnot. That was not the case in Calgary with the game deadlocked at 2-2. It was a blistering, breathtaking affair the Flames eventually won on an odd-man rush of their own. The game had been there for the taking for Boston, however. They certainly made Calgary netminder Jacob Markstrom earn the win, even though he made it easy for Charlie Coyle to net his 19^th by coming out deep from his crease and giving the puck away. Coyle earned his brace (20^th) early in the third. Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak both had four shots on target.

Vancouver Canucks

Facing Boston with the prospect of a five-game losing streak is surely cause for concern in the Canucks’ dressing room. But that’s just how the cookie crumbles. If Vancouver wants to get back on track, they have to handle a club that pounded them 4-0 earlier this month.

The most recent setback was Thursday versus the Seattle Kraken in the Northwest. J.T. Miller once again came through, scoring his 29^th in the first period. But like in Minnesota on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday, scoring first didn’t help the cause. The Kraken took the rest of the match 5-1 en route to a 5-2 win. Vancouver’s only other goal was courtesy of Sam Lafferty (11^th) in the second period to make it a 2-2 game. G Thatcher Demko has now lost three consecutive starts.

This is going to be a game between two huge teams that could use a pick-me-up.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Bruins vs. Canucks?

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Bruins Team Leaders

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 110
+ / -	Brandon Carlo 23
Shots	David Pastrnak 382
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 78
Wins	Jeremy Swayman 25
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 2.53

VAN

Points	J.T. Miller 103
+ / -	Quinn Hughes 38
Shots	Elias Pettersson 207
Penalty Mins	Nikita Zadorov 102
Wins	Thatcher Demko 35
GAA	Thatcher Demko 2.45

BOS

Points	Jake DeBrusk 11
+ / -	Trent Frederic 5
Shots	David Pastrnak 41
Penalty Mins	David Pastrnak 25
Wins	Jeremy Swayman 6
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 2.15

VAN

Points	Brock Boeser 12
+ / -	J.T. Miller 5
Shots	J.T. Miller 29
Penalty Mins	Nikita Zadorov 26
Wins	Arturs Silovs 5
GAA	Thatcher Demko 2

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Canucks Team Leaders

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 110
+ / -	Brandon Carlo 23
Shots	David Pastrnak 382
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 78
Wins	Jeremy Swayman 25
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 2.53

VAN

Points	J.T. Miller 103
+ / -	Quinn Hughes 38
Shots	Elias Pettersson 207
Penalty Mins	Nikita Zadorov 102
Wins	Thatcher Demko 35
GAA	Thatcher Demko 2.45

BOS

Points	Jake DeBrusk 11
+ / -	Trent Frederic 5
Shots	David Pastrnak 41
Penalty Mins	David Pastrnak 25
Wins	Jeremy Swayman 6
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 2.15

VAN

Points	Brock Boeser 12
+ / -	J.T. Miller 5
Shots	J.T. Miller 29
Penalty Mins	Nikita Zadorov 26
Wins	Arturs Silovs 5
GAA	Thatcher Demko 2

Injuries

Boston

Brad Marchand (LW)

Prob Fri Upper Body - 10 / 05 / 24

Brandon Carlo (D)

Ques Mon Personal - 06 / 05 / 24

Danton Heinen (LW)

Prob Sun Lower Body - 02 / 05 / 24

Brandon Carlo (D)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 01 / 05 / 24

Andrew Peeke (D)

Prob Fri Finger - 23 / 04 / 24

Brandon Carlo (D)

Prob Sat Undisclosed - 16 / 04 / 24

Justin Brazeau (RW)

Prob Tues Upper Body - 02 / 04 / 24

John Beecher (C)

Ques Tues Illness - 23 / 03 / 24

Brad Marchand (LW)

Prob Sat Undisclosed - 22 / 03 / 24

James van Riemsdyk (LW)

Prob Sat Illness - 21 / 03 / 24

Vancouver

Ilya Mikheyev (RW)

Out Sat Undisclosed - 18 / 05 / 24

Carson Soucy (D)

Elig Thurs Suspension - 13 / 05 / 24

Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW)

Ques Thurs Personal - 12 / 05 / 24

Casey DeSmith (G)

Prob Tues Undisclosed - 28 / 04 / 24

Tyler Myers (D)

Prob Fri Illness - 23 / 04 / 24

Tyler Myers (D)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 02 / 03 / 24

Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW)

Ques Sat Personal - 22 / 02 / 24

Dakota Joshua (C)

Prob Thurs Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 24

Nikita Zadorov (D)

Elig Thurs Suspension - 10 / 02 / 24

Carson Soucy (D)

Prob Tues Hand - 22 / 01 / 24

Injuries

Boston

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Brad Marchand (LW)	Prob Fri	Upper Body - 10 / 05 / 24	2-2	2-2	+ -
Marchand is hampered by an upper-body injury, but he is expected to suit up against the Panthers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference second round.
Brandon Carlo (D)	Ques Mon	Personal - 06 / 05 / 24	3-3	3-3	+ -
Carlo is dealing with a personal matter, and it is unknown if he will face the Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference second round.
Danton Heinen (LW)	Prob Sun	Lower Body - 02 / 05 / 24	4-4	3-5	+ -
Heinen has been sidelined due to a lower-body injury, but he is expected to return for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round against the Panthers.
Brandon Carlo (D)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 01 / 05 / 24	4-4	3-5	+ -
Carlo is hindered by an unspecified issue, but it is expected that he will face the Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first round.
Andrew Peeke (D)	Prob Fri	Finger - 23 / 04 / 24	6-5	3-7-1	+ -
Peeke is battling a finger injury, but he is expected to battle the Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference second round.
Brandon Carlo (D)	Prob Sat	Undisclosed - 16 / 04 / 24	7-7	4-9-1	+ -
Carlo is dealing with an undefined issue, but he is likely to be active against the Maple Leafs for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round.
Justin Brazeau (RW)	Prob Tues	Upper Body - 02 / 04 / 24	10-10	5-14-1	+ -
Brazeau has been sidelined with an upper-body injury, but he is expected to return for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round versus the Maple Leafs.
John Beecher (C)	Ques Tues	Illness - 23 / 03 / 24	11-13	7-16-1	+ -
Beecher was absent from the previous game due to an illness, and it is unknown if he will dress for Tuesday's showdown with the Panthers.
Brad Marchand (LW)	Prob Sat	Undisclosed - 22 / 03 / 24	11-13	7-16-1	+ -
Marchand is expected to be available for Saturday's matchup with the Flyers despite an undefined issue.
James van Riemsdyk (LW)	Prob Sat	Illness - 21 / 03 / 24	12-13	8-16-1	+ -
van Riemsdyk was held out of the previous game with an illness, but it is likely that he will be active for Saturday's battle with the Flyers.

Vancouver

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Ilya Mikheyev (RW)	Out Sat	Undisclosed - 18 / 05 / 24	1-1	0-1-1	+ -
Mikheyev is dealing with an unknown injury, and he is not expected to play against the Edmonton on Saturday
Carson Soucy (D)	Elig Thurs	Suspension - 13 / 05 / 24	4-1	2-2-1	+ -
Soucy has received a one-game suspension for cross-checking, and he will be eligible to return against the Oilers in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW)	Ques Thurs	Personal - 12 / 05 / 24	4-1	2-2-1	+ -
Di Giuseppe is dealing with a personal matter, and his status for Thursday's game against Oilers is in question.
Casey DeSmith (G)	Prob Tues	Undisclosed - 28 / 04 / 24	8-2	4-5-1	+ -
DeSmith is dealing with an unspecified issue, but it is anticipated that he will play in Game 5 of the Western Conference first round versus the Predators.
Tyler Myers (D)	Prob Fri	Illness - 23 / 04 / 24	9-3	5-6-1	+ -
Myers is hindered by an illness, but it is expected that he will take on the Predators in Game 3 of the Western Conference first round.
Tyler Myers (D)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 02 / 03 / 24	15-18	11-19-3	+ -
Myers is sidelined with a lower-body injury, and his status going forward is week-to-week.
Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW)	Ques Sat	Personal - 22 / 02 / 24	16-21	13-21-3	+ -
Di Giuseppe missed the last contest while dealing with a personal matter, and it is unclear if he will take to the ice Saturday versus the Bruins.
Dakota Joshua (C)	Prob Thurs	Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 24	18-23	16-22-3	+ -
Joshua has been assigned to the long-term injured reserve list with an upper-body injury, but he is expected to be activated in advance of Thursday's battle with the Stars.
Nikita Zadorov (D)	Elig Thurs	Suspension - 10 / 02 / 24	18-26	17-24-3	+ -
Zadorov has received a two-game suspension for an illegal check, and he will be eligible to return Thursday versus the Red Wings.
Carson Soucy (D)	Prob Tues	Hand - 22 / 01 / 24	21-28	20-26-3	+ -
Soucy has been activated from the long-term injured reserve list after recovering from a hand injury, and he is expected to return to the ice for Tuesday's showdown with the Kings.