It is Game 3 of the East Division semi-finals when the Boston Bruins welcome the Washington Capitals. This series moves to Boston where the Bruins were 18-7-3 this season.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division playoff battle at the TD Garden. Boston is the favorite at -167. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for Washington at +145 as the underdog.
Washington could be in a lot of trouble as both of their goaltenders, Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek are listed as questionable. Also questionable are Lars Eller and Michal Kempny. Listed as out are Beck Malenstyn and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Bruins Even Series with OT Winner
Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into OT to give the Bruins a 4-3 victory, tying their series at one apiece. Garnet Hathaway scored two goals for Washington. Craig Anderson stopped 40 of 44 shots in the loss.
Washington is fourth in goals per game at 3.4 and is third on the power play at 24.8%. Nicklas Backstrom led the team in points during the regular season with 63. T.J. Oshie is the team leader in points in the playoffs with three.
The Capitals finished 17th in goals allowed per game at 2.9 and are fifth in penalty killing at 84.0%. It will likely be Anderson again. He is 1-1-0 with a 2.67 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
Bruins Knot Series at One
Matt Grzelcyk recorded two assists, one of 10 players that scored at least a point in the game as Boston downed Washington in overtime. Tuukka Rask stopped 36 of 39 shots.
Boston is fifth in goals allowed per game at 2.4 and is second in penalty killing at 86.0%. Rask was 15-5-2 with a 2.26 and a .915 save percentage during the regular season. He is 1-1 with a 2.87 GAA through the first two games.
The Bruins averaged 2.9 goals per game, 14th overall, and were 10th on the power play at 21.9%. Jake DeBrusk is first in goals during the playoffs with two. Marchand led Boston with 69 points.
Trends:
Washington:
- 3-8 in their last 11 playoff games when they were the underdog.
Boston:
- 8-1 in their last nine games.
- 7-3 in their last 10 games on a Wednesday.
The Bruins pulled out a huge victory in Game 2, and now they get the chance to take the lead in this series as they return home. Washington has dominated the Bruins in Boston of late, going 10-3 in the last 13 games. However, I think Washington really needed to get a 2-0 lead in this series if they were going to advance, and they may have blown their chance. I look for Boston to jump out early on Washington to take a 2-1 series lead.
Pick: Take Boston at -167.
The Total:
Oddsmakers expect this to be a low-scoring affair, but that is not going to be the case. These teams have gone over 5.5 goals in the last two games in Boston and I look for that here as well. In fact, I would not be surprised to see Boston pull off another big OT win.
Pick: Go over 5.5 at +105.