The Boston Bruins have had the Detroit Red Wings’ number recently, but there is a case for jumping on Detroit as a value pick that has improving puck luck on the way.
The Bruins are a -145 road betting favorite with the Red Wings coming back at +125, while the total is 5.5 goals in this matchup that takes place on Wednesday, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Boston is 8-1-1 (with six wins in regulation time) over its last 10 games against its Atlantic Division rival Detroit, according to the OddsShark NHL Database. Detroit also comes in scuffling with a 1-5-4 record across its last 10 games.
The Bruins had a slow start, but have corrected course and are 14-9-4 overall, including an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games as well as a respectable 5-5-2 road record. Boston coach Bruce Cassidy has a full lineup, including the Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-David Pastrnak first line and a No. 2 trio of center David Krejci between wings Jake DeBrusk and Anders Bjork. Boston has been a productive lot, going 4-1 in its last five road games.
Goalie Tuukka Rask will start for Boston, and he has been dialed in lately with a 1.55 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. The Bruins’ strong contributions from the last line of defense – and the second-last, with rookie Charlie McAvoy combining with old pro Zdeno Chara on the first pairing – have led to four of their last five road games finishing under the posted total.
On form, the Red Wings are a shaky play at 11-13-6 overall, which includes a poor 5-6-5 home record so far in their first season at Little Caesars Arena. Leading scorer Dylan Larkin is on a 10-game goal drought, while promising RW Evgeny Svechnikov has a goose egg in the goal column over the last 12.
The Red Wings under coach Jeff Blashill have been struggling to score, managing just a single goal in five of their last eight games. They have, however, had the lion’s share of scoring chances over their last three games; as hockey types often say, everything evens out in the sport eventually.
The Red Wings’ No. 1 goalie, Jimmy Howard, has received a “mercy pull” from some recent games, but had a solid 27-save performance in a 2-1 overtime loss against the Florida Panthers on Monday.
The tea leaves probably point to a Boston victory, but bettors should keep a corner of one eye on the Red Wings as long as the young team continues to offers plus money. Six of their next seven games are against either playoff-position teams or the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, so that will likely continue for a few weeks yet.
The total has gone over in six of the last 10 games between Boston and Detroit. The total has gone over in six of the Red Wings’ last eight home games.