Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers Prediction, NHL Odds
Thanks to some COVID-19 postponed games, the Rangers are in the middle of a long eight game home stand. New York opens a two-game set with the Bruins on Wednesday when Boston comes to town for the first of eight meetings between these teams, this season.
The Bruins are -162 favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Bruins vs. Rangers Betting Analysis
It’s been almost a full calendar year since these teams last met. The Bruins swept all three games with New York last season, by a combined score of 13-7. Sports Interaction bettors overwhelmingly have faith in the B’s to keep the win streak alive, as 89 per cent of action is siding with Boston.
The Bruins have been terrible at covering, this season. Boston is 3-8 against the spread and have only covered in one of seven road games. While the Bruins have hit the Over in six of their last seven games at Madison Square Garden, they have actually been an Under team in 12 of their last 17 road games and six of their 11 games overall this season.
New York hasn’t found their scoring touch yet this season and it shows. The Rangers have only hit the Over in three of 11 games overall, including just once in their last seven games. New York, however, has been better at covering the spread. The Rangers are 7-4 ATS, covering four times at home and three times on the road.
Boston Bruins
Boston only has one regulation loss on the year and they come into this game riding a three game win streak. The Bruins have been off since a 2-1 win over the Flyers on Friday. Boston swept the mini two-game series after the Friday win and a 4-3 overtime win last Wednesday. David Pastrnak has been on an absolute tear in the four games he has played since returning from off-season hip surgery. Pastrnak has at least a point in every game, including five points combined in the Philadelphia series. Playing at a two-point-per-game pace, Pasta has five goals and three assists.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron leading the team offensively. Both players have 15 points in 11 games. Marchand has a team-best seven goals to go along with eight assists, while Bergeron has six goals and nine assists so far, in his first season as Bruins captain. Boston’s goaltending is one of the main reasons they sit atop the Eastern Division. Tuukka Rask is still the unquestioned starter. Rask is 5-1-1 with a 2.36 goals against average and .898 save percentage. With Rask’s save percentage dipping below .900 however, Jaroslav Halak has seen a decent amount of ice time. Halak is 3-0-1 with a 1.72 GAA and .923 SV.
New York Rangers
The Rangers have struggled this season and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Division. Outside of Artemi Panarin, no one on the Rangers has played to their potential. Overhyped rookie Alexis Lafreniere has one goal and point on the year, Mika Zibanejad has three points (1G, 2A) in 11 games, a year after putting up 75 points (41G, 34A) in 57 games, and neither Igor Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev have been stellar in net. Panarin leads the team with 15 points (5G, 10A) in 11 games.
No one on the Rangers was able to break through in New York’s 2-0 loss to the Islanders on Monday. Phillip Di Giuseppe had a game-high six shots, but is still looking for his first goal of the season. Despite the loss, Shesterkin had a solid game, stopping 28 of 30 shots. The former KHL standout is 3-3-1 on the year with a 2.31 GAA and .916 SV. Shesterkin looks like he’s solidified himself as the starter as his numbers have been better than Georgiev’s. Georgiev is 1-2-1 with a 3.27 GAA and .826 SV.
BOS
NYR