NHL Hockey: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals – Capitals Favored
Team Page: Boston :: Washington
89% of Bets Placed on Washington -135 | Matchup | Goalies
After snapping a pair of season-high losing streaks, the Boston Bruins look to continue their success against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
The Bruins (23-24-4) halted an eight-game road losing streak and a five-game overall skid Saturday when Zdeno Chara scored a power-play goal with 3:11 left in overtime to give them a 4-3 win over Carolina.
Oddsmakers have made Washington -135 money line (NHL Odds)
favorites for todays game, the over/under has been set at 6.5 total goals (View NHL Sports Books).
"I’m hoping this is a corner we can build on," Boston coach Dave Lewis said. "It’s one little baby step in a critical time of the season for us.
"The game was on the line a number of times, and we found a way."
Chara added two assists in regulation as Boston rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to win for the first time since Jan. 18. The four goals equaled its entire output during its five-game slide, in which it was outscored 22-4.
The Bruins hope the victory can provide some momentum for their ailing offensive play. Their 144 goals are third worst in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only New Jersey (143) and Philadelphia (130).
Defensively, Boston is tied with the Flyers for the worst goals-against average in the NHL at 3.71, and its 192 goals allowed are five fewer than Philadelphia’s conference-worst 197.
Boston’s poor play on both ends of the ice has it tied with Florida for 13th place in the East, nine points behind eighth-place Carolina.
Glen Murray, who scored twice Saturday and leads the team with 26 goals, hopes to close that gap with another solid performance against Washington. The right wing has eight points in his last six games against the Capitals (22-25-7).
The Bruins have six wins and a tie in the last eight meetings with the Capitals, including four consecutive wins at the Verizon Center. Their only loss to Washington in that span came on April 10 when Alex Ovechkin scored with 1:30 remaining in overtime.
The Capitals snapped a three-game slide with their first shootout victory of the season on Sunday as Alexander Semin beat Rick DiPietro for the lone goal in the tiebreaker to help them to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders.
"We will take these points. I’m happy we win," Ovechkin said. "We lose eight in 10 and we forget what it feels like winning. This game was important to us."
Ovechkin, who leads the league with 33 goals, was held without a point for the second consecutive game and took only two shots. He also missed his shootout attempt.
The 21-year-old Russian has never gone three straight games without a point. In four other instances Ovechkin was held pointless in back-to-back contests during his two NHL seasons, he followed it with a multi-point performance.
Ovechkin has six points in six contests against Boston.
by: Gary Roberts – theSpread.com – Email Us
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