Bruins Looking To Bounce Back
The first- and last-place teams in the Eastern Conference will be getting together on Thursday night.
The Bruins have already clinched the Atlantic Division and are on the verge of securing home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Columbus currently has the fewest points in the NHL and that could help the Blue Jackets in the quest to get the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NHL draft and the right to select Connor Bedard.
Boston suffered its fourth regulation loss at home, falling 2-1 to Nashville on Tuesday. The Bruins won the games following regulation losses at home this season, however, all three games were one-goal affairs.
Columbus is one of two teams yet to win at least 10 road games.
Boston is 7-1 over the last eight games with Columbus 2-5 over the last seven, so keep that in mind when making NHL picks.
When looking at some of the NHL news, Goalie Elvis Merzlikins is questionable. Forward Patrik Laine, who is second on the team with 22 goals, fellows forward Justin Danforth and Mathieu Olivier as well as defenseman Nick Blankenburg are out while defensemen Jake Bean, Erik Gudbranson, and Zach Werenski are out for the season.
For the Bruins, winger Jakub Laako is questionable while forwards Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall are out as is defenseman Derek Forbort.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Bruins (+350) continue to have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup title. Columbus is one of the two Eastern Conference teams eliminated from playoff contention.
Defensive Woes
When teams say that they are striving for consistency, what has transpired over the last six Columbus Blue Jackets games is not what they are talking about. Columbus has allowed at least two goals in two of the three periods in five of the last six games. During that stretch, a minimum of two goals have been scored in 12 of the 18 periods (not counting overtime).
In the last two games, Columbus allowed five goals in the first period, five in the second period, and four in the third period in losses to the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.
Columbus is allowing 5.5 goals per game in the month of March. That is nearly one goal more per game than any other team.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in each of the last six games played by the Blue Jackets.
Pasta on the Menu
Boston’s David Pastrnak is one of seven players with at least 10 goals in the month of March. He has accounted for three of Boston’s four goals over the last two games and he hasn’t gone more than one game without a goal in March.
Just a couple 50-goal guys. pic.twitter.com/mEWoFmLgcS
— y – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 29, 2023
Pastrnak has a career-high 52 goals and is two points shy of his first 100-point season. He had a goal and an assist in each of the first two games against Columbus this season after he had no goals and just one assist in three games versus the Blue Jackets a season ago.
Boston is 26-3-1 when Pastrnak has at least two points so that bodes well if he hits the 100-point mark on Thursday.
The NHL lines has gone under in four of Boston’s last five games.
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Game Injuries
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Head-to-Head
Boston has won the last five games against Columbus. In the first two games this season, the Bruins have outscored the Blue Jackets 8-2 and did not trail. Pastrnak led Boston with two goals and two assists in those two games.
Six of the last eight times that the teams met in Boston, the game was decided by one goal.
Six of the last eight games between the Bruins and Blue Jackets finished under the total.
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Game Information
- Game: Blue Jackets (23-43-7) vs Bruins (57-12-5)
- Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
- Day/Time: Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m. ET
- Blue Jackets vs Bruins Live Stream: NHL.TV
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Betting Lines
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Picks and Prediction
Even though the Bruins outshot Nashville 36-23 in Tuesday’s loss, the players expressed dissatisfaction in the way the team played so that could spell bad news for the Blue Jackets.
Head coach Jim Montgomery has been sitting players and limiting ice time in an attempt to keep the Bruins as healthy and fresh as possible heading into the postseason. However, there will come a time when things get back to normal and the player rotation is similar to what will be seen in the playoffs.
Sean Kuraly, who recently returned to action after missing nearly a month of action, has no points in his last two trips to TD Garden. Is this game when Kuraly, who spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with the Bruins, scores against his former team?
Vegas has covered in just 14 of its 37 home games and this is just the third time this season that Vegas is listed as the underdog on home ice.
The Bruins are 49-12-5 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Columbus is 19-46-7 as the underdog.
The Boston Bruins are listed at -450 in our Las Vegas hockey odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Bruins, you have a chance to win $22. Columbus is +350, offering a chance to win $350 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Boston Bruins an 81.82% chance to win, with the Columbus Blue Jackets at 22.22%.
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Trends
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Edge
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Results
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Game Summary
