Penguins vs. Bruins Pick
Can the Boston Bruins pick up a big win at home when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Boston is favored at home, as the Bruins are getting odds of -125 to win, while the Penguins are listed with odds of +105 to prevail. The over/under total has been set at 5.5 goals. Today’s game takes place from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts and will air live on NBC.
Pittsburgh has dropped two straight, including a 5-2 loss to the Canucks on Wednesday. The Penguins are 11-9-3 overall and 5-7-2 on the road. Pittsburgh is putting up just 2.65 goals per game this season while allowing 3.43 per contest. Phil Kessel has eight goals and 18 assists to lead the team while Evgeni Malkin has seven goals and 14 assists. Malkin is questionable for this game with an upper body injury. Matt Murray is 11-6-1 on the season in net with a 2.88 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
Boston is coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Devils in New Jersey on Wednesday for its third straight victory. The Bruins are now 9-7-4 overall and 5-3-2 at home. Boston is putting up 2.65 goals per game this season while allowing 2.90 per contest. The Bruins are being led by David Pastrnak, who has 10 goals with eight assists. Brad Marchand is adding eight goals and seven assists. Marchand is out for this game with an upper body injury of his own.
The home team has won four straight meetings between these two, but the Bruins are 6-2 in their last eight meetings with the Penguins. Pittsburgh is just 1-4 in its last five road games and 1-7 in their last 8 trips to Boston. Both teams could be without one of their best players, but I think the defensive consistency of Boston will be what leads the Bruins to a win. The public betting for today’s game isn’t available as of yet, but I like the Bruins to prevail.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: BOSTON BRUINS -125