The latest battle in the ancient rivalry between two of the Original Six teams, the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, resumes tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Which NHL picks are we counting on cashing tonight?
Boston Bruins (34-18-2)
The Boston
Bruins and the New York Rangers played last night in what many believe could be
a preview of the Eastern Conference finals a few months from now. Afterwards, many are rethinking that
position. The Bruins were stymied by New
York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as they peppered the Rangers netminder with 42
shots but were blanked nonetheless in a 3-0 loss that signaled a clear top gun
in the Eastern Conference and it’s not the entry from Boston.
Tim Thomas
is now 3-5 since he spurned the Commander in Chief and decided to let his
politics do the talking when he refused to attend a ceremony at the White House
honoring the Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins. His actions spoke more loudly than perhaps he
even believed as the media firestorm attracted more attention on his political
views than his stellar goaltending. Some believe this has affected his on-ice
play while others chalk it up to sheer coincidence.
Regardless,
the Boston Bruins are not the juggernaut they were only a month ago. They have been stumbling lately and when last
these teams met, a 2-1 Boston victory, Boston was only a point out of securing the
first overall seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Rangers. Since that time they have gone 6-7-1 and have
looked remarkably mediocre in the process.
Montreal Canadiens (23-25-9)
The
Canadiens had a four game win streak snapped on Monday night when they were
handed a 5-3 loss by the cellar dwelling Carolina Hurricanes. Though Montreal has garnered only 55 points
thus far, they are still within striking distance of a playoff spot if they can
mount a late season surge.
The
Canadiens will most likely be opposed by their nemesis in net, Tim Thomas, who
has won 7 of his last 9 starts against the Habs. His sparkling play against Montreal has
resulted in not only victories but also a micro 1.00 goals against average in
his last three starts when facing off against the Canadiens. In order to break the spell he has clearly
cast, the home team will have to hope Bruins coach Claude Julien decides to
give him the night off after last night’s loss and start Tuukka Rask. Rask has had far less success losing five
consecutive games to Montreal and posting a less than stellar 3.45 goals
against average.
If the
Canadiens are to get back on track they will need the highly paid Scott Gomez
to come alive. He has produced virtually
nothing this season but continues to collect north of 7 million dollars per season. The lack of productivity coupled with the tension of a seeming lack of effort reached a boiling point with assistant coach Randy Ladouceur in yesterday’s practice as the two had a heated exchange in front of the entire team with cameras rolling. Max Pacioretty leads the team
with 23 goals and 43 points as the young left winger continues to pave the way
for Montreal.
In his 'NHL Picks of the Day' article, David Lawrence has sided with the UNDER tonight, but I would rather turn my attention elsewhere. Current NHL odds boards list the B's at -125, and I feel that this line holds the best sports betting value for us in this matchup.
Analysis:
The Bruins
have dominated the series recently. If
Thomas is in net, he will be the key. The Bruins have far too much firepower despite their power outage last
night. The Canadiens are not the
Rangers. The B’s are in position to skate away with a road win tonight. Play
the Bruins -125 tonight.