Two clubs that split their season series (one win apiece) last year, the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks collide at Rogers Arena in a cross-continent tilt. This one will get underway at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 20 and it is being televised live on New England Sports Network.
Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks Odds
Boston (-165) is currently favored over Vancouver (+145), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 under, +100 over.
Vancouver is 4-3 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 4.5 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Pacific Division in this young season, is a remarkable improvement over the 31-51 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Four of its seven contests have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed.
The Nucks have successfully converted on 23.8 percent of their power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a noticeable improvement from last season, when they were ranked eighth in the league by scoring on 21.5 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 78.6 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 21st overall last season) to 82.1 percent this year.
The Canucks, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.9 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed some from last year’s 3.7 penalties per game the team surrendered. After serving an average of 8.7 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for a noteworthy 12.4 minutes per outing this season.
Boasting a .925 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Anders Nilsson (3-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Nucks this season. If Vancouver decides to give him the night off, however, head coach Travis Green might turn to Jacob Markstrom (1-2-2 record, .883 save percentage, 4.03 goals against average).
Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat will both lead the way for the Canucks. Pettersson (eight points) is up to five goals and three assists while Horvat has four goals and one to his credit so far in the season’s early going.
On the other side of the rink, Boston is 4-3 straight up (SU) and has earned 0.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through seven regular season contests, four of its games have gone over the total, while three have gone under the total and none have pushed. As the away team so far, the Bruins are 1-3 SU.
The Bruins have scored on 26.3 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 25.0 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (which ranked them second league-wide in that category). The team has gone from killing off 82.5 percent of opponent power plays (ranked fourth overall last season) to 72.7 percent in 2018-19.
Boston’s skaters have been whistled for penalties 5.0 times per game this season, a number that has risen noticeably from the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.4 penalty minutes per game a year ago (eighth-most in the league), the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for 12.4 minutes per matchup this season.
Tuukka Rask (.875 save percentage and 4.08 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Boston. Rask is averaging 24.5 saves per game and has two wins and two losses to his credit.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Bruins will be Patrice Bergeron (six goals, seven assists) and Brad Marchand (two goals, 10 assists).
Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Canucks, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The Bruins are 2-1 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canucks are 4-0 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
The total has gone under in four of Vancouver’s last five games.
Vancouver ranked 24th last year with 6.1 takeaways per game, but the team seems to be applying more intense pressure on opposing offenses to begin this season. It’s currently ranked 10th with 8.6 takeaways per contest.
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