By Andrei Svechnikov, Dougie Hamilton, and the Carolina Hurricanes are set to do battle against Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in an Eastern Conference showdown. New England Sports Network will showcase the game, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 3.
Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Bruins (-155), whereas the Hurricanes are showing moneyline odds of +135, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at an even 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Boston is 19-8 straight up (SU) and has earned 7.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, second-strongest in the NHL so far in the early season, is an improvement compared to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (49-33). Through 27 regular season matches, 13 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 11-4 SU at home this season.
The Bruins currently have the best power-play unit in the NHL, as they’ve converted on 31.6 percent of their extra-man advantages this year. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 84.7 percent of all penalties.
With a .933 save percentage and 28.5 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (13-4-2) has been the top goalkeeper for Boston this season. If the Bruins, however, decide to give him a rest, head coach Bruce Cassidy could turn to Jaroslav Halak (6-4-4 record, .930 save percentage, 2.35 goals against average).
Carolina is 16-11 straight up (SU) and has earned -1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of 14 of its games have gone under the total, while 13 have gone over and none have pushed. The Hurricanes are 8-6 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Hurricanes have converted on 21.2 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 84.4 percent of all penalties.
Petr Mrazek (2.68 goals against average and .901 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Carolina. Mrazek is averaging 23.7 saves per game and owns an 11-7-1 record.
Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
Four of Boston’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 4-0 overall in those games.
The Hurricanes are 5-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 9-7 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total.
The under has hit in each of Carolina’s last five outings.
Carolina is ranked 16th this season with 10.7 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as it’s averaged 9.5 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.0 giveaways over its last five.
Boston skaters have averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.6 giveaways per game (ranked 15th).
The Bruins this season have recorded the eighth-most hits in the league (23.9 per game).
