Two squads currently on losing streaks, the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights take the ice at TD Garden in an East-West tilt. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 2 and it’s being televised live on TVA Sports.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Boston Bruins Odds
Boston enters the contest as the noticeable favorite with a moneyline of -215. The line for Vegas sits at +180, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 for the over and +100 for the under.
Vegas is 8-3 straight up (SU) and has netted 7.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Seven of its contests have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. The Knights are 2-2 SU as an away team in 2017-18.
The Golden Knights have converted on 19.1 percent of their power play chances so far (ranked 13th in the league), and they’ve successfully defended 79.5 percent of opponents’ power plays this year (ranked 20th).
For the team as a whole, the Knights have been called for penalties 4.0 times per game in the 2017-18 season, 4.4 per game over its past five games total, and 4.3 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .925 save percentage and 31.0 saves per game, Marc-Andre Fleury (3-1) has been the best option in goal for Vegas this season. If Vegas decides to rest him, however, the team might turn to Oscar Dansk (3-1), who has a .946 save percentage and 1.78 goals against average this year.
James Neal and Reilly Smith will both lead the way for the visiting Golden Knights. Neal (10 points) is up to seven goals and three assists, and has recorded multiple points in four different games. Smith has four goals and five assists to his creditand has logged at least one point in four games.
On the other bench, Boston is 4-6 straight up (SU) and has recorded -5.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. Six of its contests have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. So far this year, the team’s 3-3 SU at home.
The Bruins come into the matchup with the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as they’ve scored on 28.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.4 percent of all penalties.
Bruins players have been called for penalties 5.3 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.2, the sixth-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 10.1 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for a whopping 14.3 minutes per outing this season.
Tuukka Rask (24.5 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Bruins. Rask has one win, five losses, and two overtime losses to his credit and has maintained a pedestrian 2.93 goals against average and a subpar .896 save percentage this season.
The Bruins will be led on offense by Brad Marchand (eight goals, five assists).
Vegas Golden Knights at Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Trends:
- The Golden Knights are 5-1 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-1 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- The total has gone over in three of Boston’s last five games.
- Vegas skaters have averaged 11.5 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.5 giveaways per game (ranked 18th in the league).
