Two teams that’ve served almost 21 penalty minutes combined a game, the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins face off at TD Garden in a divisional tilt. The game gets started at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 31 and it can be viewed live on Sportsnet.
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins Odds
Boston heads into the game as the obvious favorite with a moneyline of -165. The line for Florida sits at +145, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 under, +100 over.
Boston is 48-28 straight up (SU) and has earned 8.8 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 44-38 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Through 76 regular season contests, 40 of its games have gone under the total, while 34 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team’s 26-12 SU at home this year.
The Bruins have converted on 23.0 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.7 percent of all penalties.
The Bruins, as a collective unit, have been penalized 3.8 times per game overall this season, and 5.0 per game over their last five matchups at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for 8.6 minutes per game over their last five matchups, overall.
Sporting a .918 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (33-17-5) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Bruins this season. If Boston decides to give him a breather, however, the team could turn to Anton Khudobin (15-14-14 record, .915 save percentage, 2.53 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue to look for leadership from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand (84 points) has tallied 34 goals and 50 assists and has recorded multiple points on 26 separate occasions this year. Pastrnak has 32 goals and 44 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 50 contests.
On the other side of the rink, Florida is 39-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 76 regular season outings, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 37 have gone under and just one has pushed. As the road team, the Panthers are 16-23 SU.
The Panthers have converted on 19.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 13th overall and it’s successfully defended 81.2 percent of all penalties.
Florida’s players have been called for penalties 4.2 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 4.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
James Reimer (2.92 goals against average and .914 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 28.4 saves per game and owns a 20-21-6 record.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be coordinated by Aleksander Barkov (26 goals, 49 assists) and Vincent Trocheck (30 goals, 40 assists).
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Eight of Florida’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-3 in those games.
The Panthers are 16-20 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-24 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Florida is 3-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Boston is 3-3 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Boston’s last five games.
Boston is ranked 14th this season with 9.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as the team’s averaged 6.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 giveaways over its last five.
Florida skaters have averaged 9.0 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 12.9 giveaways per game (ranked 31st in the league).
The Bruins this season have handed the seventh-most hits in the league (23.8 per game), but that number has jumped up to 27.0 over their past five home outings.
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