Will Ottawa Take Down Bruins Again?
Time is running out for the Ottawa Senators to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The NHL predictions aren’t in Ottawa’s favor, sitting six points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Boston is the only team that has already clinched a playoff berth. With an 18-point lead on Toronto and 11 games left to play, Boston is closing in on the Atlantic Division title.
Boston coach Jim Montgomery has set up a rotation of having players sit out to get the team as healthy as possible for the playoffs. It hasn’t been costly when it comes to the win-loss record, with the Bruins winning their last three and outscoring Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Buffalo 15-2 in those games.
Ottawa snapped a five-game losing streak with Monday’s 2-1 win over Pittsburgh. Dylan Ferguson stopped 48 shots to pick up the win in his first NHL game since November 2017, when he was a member of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
4️⃣8️⃣ saves, not too bad for your first NHL start!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/7dTrBI5PQU
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 21, 2023
Ottawa is 5-4 this season when playing on the second day of back-to-back games. One of those losses came to the Bruins last month when the NHL schedule makers had Ottawa play back-to-back games three times in a span of 10 days. Boston getting an extra day off should be taken into consideration when making the NHL pick.
When looking at some of the NHL news, Wingers Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly are both questionable for Ottawa. The Senators are without goalies Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot.
Defenseman Derek Forbort is questionable for Boston, while forwards Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall has missed the last nine and 11 games, respectively.
According to the NHL odds, the Bruins (+350) continue to have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup title. The Senators (+15000) are 21st in the championship odds.
20-20 Vision
Drake Batherson recently became the fifth Ottawa player with at least 20 goals this season. Goal No. 21 with 2:09 left to play lifted visiting Ottawa to a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Shane Pinto is two games shy of the 20-goal mark, and when he gets there, five of Ottawa’s 20-goal scorers will be 25 or younger.
Tim Stutzle is leading the way with 35 goals and 78 points, both team marks. Stutzle saw his six-game point streak end in the win over Pittsburgh. He still has four goals and eight assists over his last seven games.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in 10 of Ottawa’s last 13 games.
Back on Track
Not even a team as dominant as the Boston Bruins can win every game. That was evident when Boston lost back-to-back games to Detroit and Chicago teams that are out of the playoff picture. The Bruins gave up 11 goals in those two games.
Boston seems to have fixed whatever was ailing the team by winning the last three games.
It hasn’t been perfect, as Boston has had to kill off 15 opposing power plays, being successful on 14 of them. Boston has scored six times in both the first and third periods in those games.
Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic each have two goals over those three games, while Brad Marchand has five assists.
Pastrnak now has 48 goals. Two more and he would join Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, Ken Hodge, Rick Middletown and Cam Neely as the only Bruins with 50 goals in a season
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in four of Boston’s last five games.
Senators vs Bruins Game Injuries
Senators vs Bruins Head-to-Head
The Bruins are in the midst of one of the best regular seasons in NHL history. However, Boston has lost two of its first three games to an Ottawa team outside the playoff structure.
The Bruins won the most recent meeting 3-1 on Feb. 20. Ottawa won 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 27 despite being outshot 51-32. Both games went under the total, as have seven of the previous eight matchups.
Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and two assists in Ottawa’s 7-5 win on Oct. 18.
Before Ottawa won three of the last four meetings, Boston had captured 13 of the previous 14.
Senators vs Bruins Game Information
- Game: Senators (34-31-5) vs Bruins (53-11-5)
- Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
- Day/Time: Tuesday, March 21st, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Senators vs Bruins Live Stream: NHL.TV
Senators vs Bruins Betting Lines
Senators vs Bruins Picks and Prediction
Two of the most exciting players in the NHL could steal the show in this one as Boston’s David Pastrnak is battling Connor McDavid for the goal-scoring lead in the NHL. Tim Stutzle of Ottawa has surpassed his goal total in his first two NHL seasons.
Boston has already dropped two games to Ottawa and it seems unlikely that the Bruins will fall to the Senators again.
The Bruins are 46-11-5 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Ottawa is 11-23-4 as the underdog. The Bruins have suffered just three regulation losses in 33 home games. The Senators are just 15-18-2 on the road.
The Boston Bruins are listed at -300 in our Las Vegas hockey odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Bruins, you have a chance to win $33. Ottawa is +250, offering a chance to win $250 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Boston Bruins a 75.00% chance to win, with the Ottawa Senators at 28.57%.
Senators vs Bruins Trends
Senators vs Bruins Edge
Senators vs Bruins Results
Senators vs Bruins Game Summary
