In their third and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers clash at Madison Square Garden for an Original Six matchup. The opening face-off takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 7, and it’ll be shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Boston Bruins at New York Rangers Odds
Boston (+100) is playing the role of underdog to Boston (-120), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 over, +100 under.
Boston is 32-19 straight up (SU) and has earned 7.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 51 regular season contests, 28 of its games have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just one has pushed. As a road team in 2017-18, the Bruins are 14-9 SU.
Boston has converted on 22.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, it has the seventh-strongest penalty kill in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Bruins have been sent to the penalty box 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.7 per game over its last ten matchups. The teams been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 5.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 25.4 saves per game with a .925 save percentage, Tuukka Rask (22-13-4) has been the best option in goal for Boston this year. Rask did just play last night, however, so Boston might decide to rest him and go with Anton Khudobin instead (10-8-4 record, .924 save percentage, 2.36 goals against average).
David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Bruins. Pastrnak (50 points) has tallied 21 goals and 29 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games. Marchand has 21 goals and 29 assists to his creditand has registered at least one point in 27 games.
New York is 25-28 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 53 regular season matches, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 17-12 SU as the home team this season.
The Rangers have converted on just 20.2 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all penalties.
New York players have been called for penalties 3.6 times per game in total this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five at home. The teams been forced to kill penalties 8.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Henrik Lundqvist has stopped 28.5 shots per game as the top selection in goal for the Rangers. Lundqvist has 21 wins, 24 losses, and four overtime losses and has maintained a .919 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Mats Zuccarello (eight goals, 30 assists).
Boston Bruins at New York Rangers Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- New York is 3-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Boston is 3-2 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in three of New York’s last five games.
- New York has averaged 2.9 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 1.0 goal per contest over its three-game losing streak.
- Over Boston’s last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-1 in those games).
- Boston skaters have dished out the eighth-most hits in the league (24.4 per game).
