Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins Prediction, NHL Odds
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Andrew Rogers
Just as we espoused the Penguins’ incredible showing in one-goal games heading into Tuesday’s first encounter, Pittsburgh dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the red-hot Bruins – the Penguins’ first one-goal defeat of the season following four straight wins.
Penguins vs. Bruins 1/28/21 Betting Analysis
Boston is a slightly smaller favourite for Thursday’s return engagement at TD Garden after prevailing at -135 two nights earlier. And Sports Interaction bettors aren’t the least bit deterred by the smaller edge, with 59 percent siding with the home team. The Penguins are trending in the wrong direction entering Thursday’s rematch, having lost five consecutive road games overall, and each of their previous nine trips to Boston.
The total for this game has seen movement, dipping from an opening of 6 (with the Under at -120) down to 5.5 (with the Over at -118). And the betting public is taking advantage of the shift, with 92 percent riding the O5.5 play. Pittsburgh has surpassed the total in five of its last seven games while going 5-2 O/U in its last seven vs. Eastern Conference opponents. And while Boston is 6-2 to the under in its last eight, these teams are 11-4 O/U in their past 15 meetings.
Pittsburgh Penguins
You could hardly blame the Penguins for being a bit distracted Thursday after general manager Jim Rutherford resigned from the position, citing personal reasons. Rutherford, who arrived in 2014, was the architect of a pair of Stanley Cup championship teams in 2016 and 2017 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. Pittsburgh is off to a decent start at 4-2-1, but has a minus-three goal differential and is still looking for its first road win of 2021.
Boston Bruins
With everything the Bruins already do well, the last thing their opponents want to see is Boston actually get better in something. And that’s exactly what’s happening so far, with the Bruins boasting a 34.6-percent power-play success rate that ranks fourth overall. Boston owned the No. 2 PP unit at 25.2 percent a season ago, and has been even more successful so far despite the absence of 2019-20 goal-scoring leader David Pastrnak.
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