Six games on tap in the NHL tonight including the Boston Bruins taking to the ice, which seems like a rare occurrence to this point in the season. The Bruins have only played 11 games so far this season, which is the least in the NHL. That being said they are still slotted into the 7th spot in the East with a (7-3-1) record. The Penguins have played 4 more games than the Bruins thusfar and have recorded the same number of points. Their record to this point sits at (7-7-1).
Boston Bruins +110 (TheSportsbook.com)
Pittsburgh Penguins -125 (Sportsbook.com)
Boston is the underdog in this one according to the bookmakers even though their road record (5-1-0) is very impressive and the Penguins home record (2-4-0) leaves a lot to be desired. David Krejci is out for the Penguins after suffering a concussion in their last game, but the Bruins have the depth at center to make due without one of their stars. Mike Comrie may be out of the lineup for the Penguins tonight with an illness, but he plays minimal minutes and really only contributes on the powerplay.
Boston’s defense has been air tight so far this season giving up an average of only 1.73 goals per game, which is second in the league next to St. Louis. A big reason for this has been Tim Thomas’ stellar start to the season. Thomas is leading the league in shutouts with 3 (tied with Halak), in GAA with 1.02 and in save percentage with .967. Thomas should start tonight and this gives Boston a great chance of winning. The pickup of Nathan Horton has also looked very good so far as he leads the team in both goals (6) and points (11).
The Penguins are currently outside of the playoffs looking in, which isn’t where a preseason Stanley Cup contender wants to be. The Pens have had to deal with Marc-Andre Fleury not being at his best this season. Fleury has 1 win in 8 games and has recorded a 3.55 GAA and a .853 save percentage to start the season. Teams simply can’t win with those goaltender numbers. One bright spot for the Penguins has been the play of their captain Sidney Crosby, who has 19 points in 15 games and is ranked 3rd in the league in points. That is the production the team needs from Crosby when they really have no other threats other than Malkin who has been less than effective scoring only 10 points so far this season.
The Bruins are playing very well as a team so far this season and the Penguins don’t have the depth to produce past Crosby and Malkin. It’s surprising that the Bruins are the underdogs in this game.
My Pick: Boston Bruins +115
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Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tagged with: Boston Bruins • pittsburgh penguins