Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins Prediction, NHL Odds
The Bruins’ offence is still nowhere to be found after a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh in the opening half of a two-game set in Boston on Thursday. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is looking to sweep the mini series and add to their five game winning streak when these teams meet for a Saturday matinee.
The Bruins opened as -120 home favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Penguins vs. Bruins Betting Analysis
This is the third two-game set these teams have faced off in this season. The Bruins swept the first set in January before splitting a second two-game set in March. A Pittsburgh win on Saturday would give each team three wins in the season series and they’re still scheduled to face off two more times after Saturday’s meeting.
The Penguins have a dominant home record, but they’ve struggled to pick up wins on the road. They’re 8-8-1 outside of PPG Paints Arena and Thursday’s win broke a 10-game losing streak in Boston. Pittsburgh is 17-20 against the spread this year and have covered in seven of 17 road games. They’ve been an Under team in nine of their last 11 games overall, including five of their last six on the road.
Boston has a nearly identical home record versus road record, with an extra overtime loss on the road being the only difference. The Bruins offence has dried up and as a result they’ve struggled to cover. Boston is 9-24 ATS and has only covered in five of 16 home games. They’ve also fallen short of the number on the over/under in 10 of their last 12 games overall and five straight games against Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It’s crowded at the top of the East Division standings. Pittsburgh is in a tie for top spot in the division with the Capitals and Islanders, but they have a nine-point cushion over Boston. Thursday’s win was still probably a relief for a Pens team that hadn’t won in Boston since December 2015. In that span of time, both teams combined for three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and two Cup wins (Pens in 2016 and 2017).
Pittsburgh has now picked up points in 12 of their last 14 games and they’re getting production from across the lineup. The Pens had 12 different players record points on Thursday with representatives from all four forward lines and all three defensive pairings reaching the scoresheet. Zach Aston-Reese, Jake Guentzel, Mike Matheson and Jason Zucker all found the back of the net. Casey DeSmith stopped 30 of 31 shots faced. DeSmith has allowed just two goals in his last 212:14 of play. The Penguins as a team have given up two or fewer goals in 12 of their last 13 games.
Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand scored and added to his team-leading 37 points on the season, but it wasn’t enough to get the win on Thursday. It was his 14th goal of the season, tying him with David Pastrnak for the team-lead in that category as well. Tuukka Rask, who has been dealing with a suspected back injury, will remain out of the lineup. Rask has only played one period since March 7. In Rasks’ absence, Dan Vladar made his third career start on Thursday. The 23-year-old rookie was solid, stopping 19 of 22 shots to at least give the Bruins a chance. It was the first loss of Vladar’s career. Jaroslav Halak should get the nod in goal on Saturday.
Keep an eye on last minute injury scratches for this team as the Bruins back end was banged up on Thursday. Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk and Jeremy Lauzon all left the game at some point, although Carlo was the only one who didn’t return. Carlo, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, didn’t practice Friday and is listed as day-to-day, but likely won’t play Saturday. McAvoy, Grzelcyk and Lauzon are all expected to play, although Lauzon is technically listed as questionable.
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