Two of the most heavily-penalized clubs in the league, the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins meet at TD Garden in an Atlantic Division tilt. The first puck will drop at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 8, and it is being shown live on Sportsnet.
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins Odds
The Bruins are 50-31 straight up (SU) and have earned 6.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 44-38 record from last year’s regular season campaign. 42 of its 81 games have gone under the total, while 35 have gone over and just three have pushed. The team’s 28-12 SU at home this year.
Boston has converted on 23.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.5 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Boston has been penalized 3.8 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five matchups. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 8.1 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, in total.
With a .919 save percentage and 25.8 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (34 wins, 19 losses, and five OT losses) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Bruins this year. If head coach Bruce Cassidy decides to give him a breather, however, the Bruins might turn to Anton Khudobin (16-15-15 record, .913 save percentage, 2.56 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue seeking leadership out of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Marchand (85 points) is up to 34 goals and 51 assists and has recorded two or more points on 27 separate occasions this year. Pastrnak has 34 goals and 45 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 53 contests.
Over on the other bench, Florida is 43-38 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.0 units this year. Through 81 regular season matches, 40 of its games have gone under the total, while 38 have gone over and just two have pushed. Florida’s 16-24 SU as a road team this season.
Florida has converted on 19.1 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.4 percent of all penalties.
Florida’s skaters have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 5.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (.912 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 28.4 saves per game and has 21 wins, 22 losses, and six OT losses to his credit.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be facilitated by Aleksander Barkov (27 goals, 51 assists) and Vincent Trocheck (31 goals, 44 assists).
Florida Panthers vs. Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in four of Florida’s last five outings.
Two teams that put the puck on goal a lot, Florida has taken the league’s third-most shots on goal (34.5) while Boston has attempted the ninth-most (32.8).
The Panthers are 15-15 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Bruins are 24-10 SU when they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
Florida is 3-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Boston is 3-3 in shootouts.
Boston has created 10.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked 7th overall).
Florida has allowed 3.0 goals per game overall this season, but has driven that figure down to 2.0 per contest over the team’s four-game winning streak.
Florida has averaged 6.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 9.0 takeaways per game (ranked fourth).
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