New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins Prediction, NHL Odds
After shutting out the New York Rangers 4-0 at home on Thursday, the Boston Bruins will look for a repeat win in a matinee matchup on Saturday.
The Bruins are -185 favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Rangers vs. Bruins Betting Analysis
Thanks to a limited schedule, these teams have already met five times this season, all in the last month. The Rangers have had a tough time solving the Bruins, only picking up one win in the season series.
New York hasn’t only struggled this season to take down Boston, they’ve actually only won two of their last 10 games against the Bruins. The Rangers are 16-10 against the spread this season, covering in eight of 12 road games. New York has been an Under team in five of its last six games at TD Garden.
The Bruins have struggled to cover the spread this season. Boston is 7-17 ATS overall, covering in half of their 10 home games. The Bruins have been an Under team in six of their last eight home games and have only hit the Over at home three times this year.
New York Rangers
The Rangers are hoping to get a big boost to their lineup in Saturday’s matinee as Artemi Panarin could be making his return, according to coach David Quinn. The Rangers have gone 4-5-0 since Panarin took a leave of absence from the team. The “Breadman” hasn’t played since a 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 20. Although Panarin has missed 11 games throughout the season, he’s still tied for second in team points with 18 (5G, 13A) in 14 games. New York desperately needs Panarin’s scoring touch to avoid a second straight shutout to Boston.
At the other end of the ice, Alexandar Georgiev’s struggles continued on Thursday. Georgiev was pulled after allowing four goals on 10 shots. The final straw came when he gave up back-to-back goals to David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk early in the second period. Keith Kincaid stopped all 13 shots in relief and is expected to get the start on Saturday. No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin will miss his fifth straight game with a groin injury.
Boston Bruins
After being benched against the New York Islanders, DeBrusk responded by scoring his first goal in over a month on Thursday. Krejci scored his first goal of the season a little over a minute before the DeBrusk goal in the second period, while David Pastrnak (who certainly earned some Barbie Girl song) and Patrice Bergeron each found the back of the net in the first frame. Brad Marchand finished with three assists and now leads the Bruins with 31 points (12G, 19A) in 24 games.
The win snapped a two game losing streak for the Bruins and earned them just their fourth win in their last 11 games. Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves on Thursday for his second shutout of the season. Keep an eye on who gets the start on Saturday between Halak and Tuukka Rask. Halak is having the best start of his career, posting a 6-2-2 record with a 1.88 goals-against average (3rd among goalies with at least six games played) and .927 save percentage (5th). Rask has seen more action, but his numbers haven’t been up to Halak’s level. Rask is 8-4-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .906 SV.
NYR
BOS