Two of the league’s best at fending off power plays, the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins take the ice at TD Garden for an Original Six showdown. The match gets underway at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 16, and fans at home can watch the game live on MSG Plus 2.
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins Odds
New York is 17-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 32 regular season matches, 18 of its games have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Rangers team is 4-7 SU on the road.
New York has converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. Additionally, it has the eighth-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 83.0 percent of all penalties.
New York, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.5 times per game overall this season, and 2.7 per game over its past ten games. The team’s had to kill penalties just 5.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .917 save percentage and 27.7 saves per game, Henrik Lundqvist (15-12-2) has been the primary option in goal for New York this year. Lundqvist played last night, however, so head coach Alain Vigneault could opt to rest him and go with Ondrej Pavelec instead (2-6-1 record, .914 save percentage, 3.04 goals against average).
Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Rangers. Zuccarello has 26 points on seven goals and 19 assists, and has recorded two or more points six times. Buchnevich has 11 goals and 12 assists to his credit (and has registered a point in 17 games).
Boston is 15-14 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 15 of its contests have gone under the total, while 14 have gone over and none have pushed. It’s 9-7 SU at home this season.
Boston has converted on 20.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Boston players have been penalized 4.2 times per game in total this season, 3.8 per game over their past five contests total, and 4.0 per game over their last five at home. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays a whopping 14.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Tuukka Rask (24.5 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for Boston. Rask has eight wins, 11 losses, and two OT losses and has maintained a .914 save percentage and 2.41 goals against average this season.
The home team offense will be led by David Pastrnak (15 goals, 14 assists).
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
The over has hit in three of Boston’s last five games.
The Rangers are 8-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 12-9 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
Boston is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 1-2 in shootouts.
Boston is ranked 4th overall with 9.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher recently, as it has averaged 10.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.8 takeaways over its last five.
New York is ranked fourth in the league with 10.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as it’s averaged 8.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.4 takeaways over its last five.
Boston may hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 8-5 in games decided by one goal, while New York is 5-7 in such games.
