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Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins: NHL Odds, Prediction

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The Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks met in the 2011 Stanley Cup finals, with the Bruins winning out in seven games. These two had a massive rivalry going, but each has made the playoffs just once in the last three seasons. Both teams are struggling as they get ready for their cross-conference showdown on Thursday.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins

Date: Thursday, October 19th – 7:00 PM ET
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
NHL Odds: Canucks +145

NHL Odds and Betting Analysis

The Bruins and the Canucks have split their last 10 meetings with the Bruins sweeping both meetings last year. Eight of the last 10 meetings have been set at a posted total of 5.5 and six of the games have ended up going over.

Boston Bruins

 The Bruins have also lost three of their first five games, including a 3-1 loss in Vegas on Sunday wrapped up a three-game road trip. The Bruins are 20th in goals scored and 22nd in goals allowed. The concern is that they haven’t looked close in their three losses as they’ve been outscored 13-3 in those games.

More is needed out of Tuukka Rask, who is 1-3-0 with a 3.30 GAA and an .882 save percentage. Those numbers are well below his career averages, so you would expect that he is going to be better. The Bruins have long been built around defense and goaltending, and if that doesn’t come around, it’s going to be a long year for this team. Anton Khudobin is 1-0 in two games with a 1.52 GAA and a .950 save percentage. He could push Raask for starts if the two continue to trend in opposite directions.

Vancouver Canucks

 After starting the season with four straight home games, this will be the second of five road games in a row for the Canucks. Brock Boeser, Alexander Burmistrov and Thomas Vanek each scored a goal in each period for the Canucks, who also got a shutout from Anders Nilsson. He stopped all 32 shots that he faced. However, the Canucks have lost three of their first five games overall. It has been mainly down to a lack of goals as they’re 26th in the NHL in that category. Boeser, Vanek, Bo Horvat and Chris Tanev all have two goals apiece for the Canucks.

At the other end of the ice, Jacob Markstrom has a 2.96 GAA and a .902 save percentage as the Canucks are who are ninth in goals allowed.  With Markstrom struggling and Nilsson coming off a shutout, we could have a bit of a controversy brewing. More offense is needed from the Canucks if they are going to get back to the playoffs. The Sedin brothers, Daniel (one goal, one assist) and Henrik (two assists) have four points between them and are a combined -6.

Canucks vs. Bruins Prediction:

Bruins 4-2