Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, NHL Odds
After getting shutout 4-0 by the Rangers on Saturday (which split their two-game set with New York) the Bruins are looking to get back into the win column on Monday when they open a back-to-back set with the Penguins in Pittsburgh. It won’t be easy for Boston, however, as the Pens have won five straight games heading into Monday.
This game is essentially a pick’em on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Bruins vs. Penguins Betting Analysis
This will be the third meeting between these teams this season after Boston won the first two. Craig Smith scored the OT winner in a 4-3 Bruins win on Jan. 26, which was followed by a 4-1 Boston win on Jan. 28. Pittsburgh leads the Bruins by three points in the Eastern Division standings, but the Bruins have two games in-hand, so this is a big series for both teams.
Despite winning both meetings with the Pens earlier this season, the Bruins haven’t fared so well in Pittsburgh over the last couple of years, dropping six straight games in the Steel City. Boston has been an Under team in six of their last seven games overall. The Bruins are 7-18 against the spread this year and have only managed to cover in two of 14 road games.
Pittsburgh hasn’t had any trouble scoring against Boston, as they’ve hit the Over in 11 of their last 16 games against the Bruins. The Pens have hit the Over in seven of 13 homes game this season. Pittsburgh is 11-17 ATS, covering six times at home.
Boston Bruins
Boston looked great when they shutout the Rangers 4-0 on Thursday. The only problem with that win was, they followed it up by letting New York shut them out by the same score on Saturday. Jaroslav Halak played both games against the Rangers. He made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season on Thursday and stopped 29 of 33 shots in the loss on Saturday. Tuukka Rask has been dealing with a back injury for the past three games, so it’s expected that Halak will get the start on Monday as well. For the season he is 6-3-2 with a 2.07 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
The series with the Rangers was a perfect example of Boston’s season. The Bruins have the talent to score, but they haven’t managed to do it consistently. Boston is 21st in scoring offence, averaging 2.72 goals per game. Outside of Brad Marchand’s 31 points (12G, 19A), Patrice Bergeron’s 24 points (10G, 14A) and David Pastrnak’s 22 points (12G, 10A), the Bruins haven’t had much help offensively. David Krejci in particular, has seen a big drop in production and has only managed one goal in 21 games. At the halfway point of the season, Boston is going to need the rest of the roster to step up in a big way.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pens have been great at home this year, going 11-2-0 at PPG Paints Arena. Despite all the trade rumours, it’s the usual suspects getting it done for the Pens. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 26 points (10G, 16A) in 26 games, while Evgeni Malkin is third with 22 points (7G, 15A) in 27 games. Crosby and Jake Guentzel’s 10 goals are the most on the team. Kris Letang is the Pens’ top scoring defenceman with 19 points (5G, 14A) in 26 games.
Casey DeSmith picked up his fifth career shutout in Pittsburgh’s last outing, a 3-0 win over the Sabres on Saturday. The veteran backup is having a solid season and with Tristan Jarry struggling to stay consistent, Smith could see a heavier workload in the back half of the season. Smith is 6-2-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .912 SV. Jarry has seen more action and has posted an 11-7-1 record with a 3.00 GAA and .901 SV. While Jarry will likely get the nod for the first game against the Bruins, DeSmith has been the better goalie this year, so it will be interesting to see how the Pens handle their goaltending situation throughout the rest of the season.
BOS
PIT