NHL Hockey Betting: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals
The NHL is back to work following their All Star Break and the Boston Bruins don’t get to ‘ease’ back into their schedule. They find themselves in the deep end immediately as they must travel to Washington DC to take on the league leading Washington Capitals. The Bruins won three straight heading into the break and are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division. Both Boston and Ottawa have 58 points putting them 9 points behind the division leading Montreal Canadiens. In the rear view mirror they are 3 points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and 4 points up on the Florida Panthers.
The Washington Capitals lost their last game before the break but that’s one of their few missteps over the past month. The Capitals are 33-11-6 for 72 points putting them 2 points ahead of second place Columbus, 5 up on third place Pittsburgh and 9 up on the fourth place New York Rangers. They’ve been good in just about every phase of the game. They’re 19-5-1 at home, 14-6-5 on the road and are 7-2-1 in their last ten games. Their statistical profile is equally as impressive–they’re #5 in goals per game (3.2) and #1 in goals against per game allowing just 2.1. They’re #4 on the penalty kill (85.1%) and #12 on the power play which looks bad only in comparison to their other stats.
Boston played last night in Tampa making this the second of back to back games. That means that starting goalie Tuukka Rask hasn’t been ‘confirmed’ at this point. That being said, it’s almost certain he’ll go since the only backup the Bruins have at this point is prospect Drew McIntyre who has been recalled from the AHL affiliate in Providence. Since McIntyre has only 3 starts in his NHL career it’s unlikely that Boston will throw him in against the powerful Capitals unless Rask is injured. Washington will counter with Braden Holtby who is having another Vezina Trophy worthy season. Holtby is 24-8-4 with a 1.96 goals against average and a 0.930 save percentage along with six shutouts. The Caps lost against the Islanders last night but gave backup Phillip Grubauer the start–Holtby is already confirmed for this game.
Game is currently off the board but when it goes up the Caps are the play. Tough to go against them in their current form and particularly with an erratic Bruins side.
BET WASHINGTON CAPITALS OVER BOSTON BRUINS
