TD Garden will be the site for an Original Six matchup as the Detroit Red Wings travel to Beantown to meet the Boston Bruins. The matchup will get underway at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 13, and you can watch the game live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins Odds
Boston (-270) is currently the favorite over Detroit (+230) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Boston is 3-1 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.9 units this season. That winning percentage, the NHL’s third-strongest so far this season, is right in line with what the team managed during last year’s regular season (50-32). Thus far, the team’s 2-0 SU at home.
The Bruins have successfully scored on 44.4 percent of their power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a noticeable improvement from last season, when they were ranked second in the league by scoring on 25.0 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has fallen off significantly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 82.5 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked fourth overall last season) to 69.2 percent this year.
The Bruins, as a collective unit, have been whistled for penalties 5.0 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed from last year’s 3.8 penalties per game the team surrendered. After serving an average of 9.4 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for a noteworthy 14.3 minutes per outing this year.
Averaging 24.3 saves per game with a .961 save percentage, Jaroslav Halak (2-1) has been the top goalkeeper for the Bruins this year. If head coach Bruce Cassidy chooses to give him the day off, however, Boston may roll with Tuukka Rask (1-1-1 record, .840 save percentage, 5.49 goals against average).
The Bruins will continue to look for leadership out of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Bergeron (eight points) has produced five goals and three assists while Marchand has one goal and seven assists to his name so far in the season’s early going.
On the other hand, Detroit is 0-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of two of its outings have gone over the total, while another two have gone under the total and none have pushed. As a road team, the Red Wings are 0-2 SU so far.
The Wings have scored on 25.0 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 17.5 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a percentage that was ranked just 23rd in league-wide). The team’s gone from killing off 77.6 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 23rd overall last season) to 81.3 percent this year.
Detroit’s skaters have been penalized 5.3 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed noticeably from the 3.7 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to kill penalties for a noteworthy 14.5 minutes per outing this year.
The winless Jimmy Howard (30.3 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Detroit. Howard owns a 0-3-2 record, while registering a .910 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Red Wings will be Dylan Larkin (two goals, two assists) and Gustav Nyquist (zero goals, three assists).
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
After winning five of their six shootouts last year, Detroit is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Boston went 3-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
After averaging the ninth-most shots in the league last season (32.8 per game), Boston’s attempted 28.3 shots per game overall this season, and 31.0 in their last five home outings.
Boston has averaged 3.5 goals per game overall this year, but has upped that figure to 4.7 per contest in its last three games (the team’s a perfect 0-0 SU during that span).
Detroit skaters recorded 19.6 hits per game last season, while the Bruins logged 24.3 hits per contest.
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