In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins clash at TD Garden for an Atlantic Division showdown. TVA Sports will air the game, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 27.
Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins Odds
Boston comes into the matchup as the heavy favorite with a -200 moneyline. The line for Ottawa sits at +170 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
The Bruins are 19-15 straight up (SU) and have lost 0.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Atlantic Division in this young season, is right in line with the 44-38 record the team managed during last years regular season campaign. Of the teams 34 regular season contests, 19 have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and none have pushed. This year, the teams 12-8 SU at home.
Boston’s converted on 20.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Beantown has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall this season, and 4.8 per game over its last five at home. The team has had to kill penalties for 11.8 minutes per game over its last five home outings.
Sporting a .918 save percentage and 25.0 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (11-12-3) has been the primary option in goal for the Bruins this year. If head coach Bruce Cassidy chooses to give him the night off, however, the Bruins may roll with Anton Khudobin (8-5-5 record, .923 save percentage, 2.45 goals against average).
David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand will each look to continue their strong seasons for the Bruins. Pastrnak (33 points) has put up 15 goals and 18 assists and has recorded two or more points eight times this year. Marchand has 15 goals and 17 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 19 games.
Over on the other bench, Ottawa is 11-23 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of 17 of its matches have gone over the total, while an additional 17 have gone under and none have pushed. Ottawa’s 5-12 SU as an away team this season.
Ottawa has converted on just 16.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 23rd overall and it’s successfully defended 78.4 percent of all penalties.
Ottawa’s skaters have been whistled for penalties only 3.6 times per game in total this season, and 4.6 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Craig Anderson (.900 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for Ottawa. Anderson is averaging 25.5 saves per game and owns a 10-16-4 record.
Mark Stone (14 goals, 17 assists) will lead the attack for the visiting Senators.
Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in four of Boston’s last five outings.
- Ottawa has managed 30.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Boston is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Bruins are 8-4 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Senators are 0-7 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- Boston is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Ottawa is 1-5 in shootouts.
- One of the best at disrupting opposing teams, Boston is ranked 3rd with 10.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as it has forced 10.7 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.6 takeaways over its last five.
- Ottawa has averaged 2.3 goals per game, while giving up 3.7, over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
- Ottawa skaters have created 6.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.9 takeaways per game (ranked 17th in the league).
- Boston might hold an advantage if it’s a close one late. The teams 9-6 in games decided by one goal, while Ottawa is 6-13 in such games.
