The New York Islanders will be looking for their fifth straight victory over the Boston Bruins when these teams meet on Thursday. New York defeated Boston in overtime back on March 25, 4-3.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division battle at the TD Garden. Boston is the favorite at -115. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for New York at -105 as the underdog.
New York has lost three players over the last few days, including left wings Ross Johnston and Michael Dal Colle, both of whom will be out for this game. Defenseman Brayden Coburn will also be out for this contest. Boston may have goaltender Tuukka Rask back as he is listed as questionable. Also listed as questionable is center Trent Frederic and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
Islanders Edge Rangers in OT
Ryan Pulock scored 1:13 into overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers. Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 of 26 shots to earn the victory. The Islanders held a 2-0 lead coming out of the first period, thanks to goals by Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, but the Rangers were able to come back with two second-period goals to force overtime.
New York is second in goals allowed per contest at 2.31 and are 11th in penalty killing at 81.6%. Semyon Varlamov will be between the pipes for this game. He is 16-8-3 with a 2.21 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Varlamov has been a bit inconsistent of late, allowing three goals in his last start, but shutting out Washington in the previous outing. He gave up four goals to the Capitals on April 1 but only two to Pittsburgh on March 29.
The Islanders are 15th in goals per game at 2.88 and 12th in shooting percentage at 9.8%. They are 11th in penalty killing it 81.6%. Matthew Barzal leads the team in scoring with 37 points. Brock Nelson is the leading goal scorer with 15.
Bruins Beat Sabres in Shootout
The Boston Bruins defeated Buffalo in a shootout, 3-2. Jeremy Swayman continues his impressive start with Boston, stopping 21 of 23 shots. Craig Smith and David Krejci had the two goals for Boston.
Boston is seventh in goals allowed per game at 2.60 and has the top penalty-killing unit in the NHL at 85.7%. With Rask (2.40, .907) still likely not ready to go, count on Swayman between the pipes. He has been brilliant, going 3-1-0 with a 2.22 GAA and a .926 save percentage in four starts.
Boston is 20th in goals per game at 2.70 and is 28th in shooting percentage at 8.4%. They are ninth on the power-play at 23.1%. Brad Marchand is the leading scorer with 48 points. He also leads the team with 19 goals and 29 assists. Patrice Bergeron is second with 35 points.
Trends:
New York:
- 4-0 in their last four games when playing on three days or more rest.
- 6-1 in their last seven games on Thursday.
Boston:
- 2-10 in their last 12 games following a victory.
New York has dominated Boston of late, and the Bruins have not looked particularly good over the last month. They are getting solid goaltending out of Swayman, but when they face a team that has great goaltending of their own, they simply do not win those games. It is staggering that they have lost 10 of their last 12 games following a victory. New York has won the last five meetings between these teams.
Pick: Take New York at -105.
The Total:
The total has gone under in five of the last six meetings between these teams and Boston and has gone under in 10 of the last 16 meetings overall. New York has gone under in five straight games while Boston has gone under in 15 of their last 22 games and 12 of their last 18 at home. I love the under in this contest.
Pick: Go under 5.5 goals at -115.