Bet On The Total For Bruins Vs. Rangers

Bruins vs. Rangers, 7:00 ET

I want to be a professional sports scheduler. Let me take that back a bit - I want to sit in on the conversation, and then be a consultant. I don't want to do the work, I just want to tell them when they mess up and when they should make changes. Afterall, not working and just telling people you can do it better is the most normal thing that someone on the internet can do. We went from having just one hockey game yesterday to now getting a 12-game slate today. I'm excited for today, but yesterday was a dud. Let's balance it out, ya know? I couldn't resist this game between the Bruins and the Rangers.

A few years ago, the Bruins looked like they were going to be remembered as one of the greatest teams of all time. Their regular season was something to behold, but unfortunately for them, they didn't even advance out of the first round of the playoffs. Last season wasn't as dominant, but still a good campaign. This year they are much closer to .500 and being a rather average team. They come into the game with a 20-15-4 record which is still positive but certainly provides room for improvement. The team is a bit banged up right now with multiple centers considered day-to-day, but I imagine all of them will be available to play. The Bruins are also playing pretty good hockey at the moment, going 3-2 over their past five games. I'm not as crazy about this recent travel schedule, going from Columbus, to Boston, to Washington, now to New York, because it takes guys out of a good rhythm, and they will be playing in their fourth game over the past seven days. They could come into this game rather tired. They haven't been great on the road either, going 8-9-2 overall away from home. 

Nov 3, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) skates on the ice before the second period against the Seattle Kraken at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The Rangers are a team that I recently lost a unit on. I bet on them against the Panthers a few days ago, and took them to score under 2.5 goals. That wasn't the case as they netted the third goal fairly early in the third period, but ultimately lost the game. This was the fourth straight loss for the Rangers, and they've scored just six goals in their past four games. They once again allowed five or more goals, and that is the third consecutive game they've done that. Perhaps being at home again will give them a bit of a boost, but I wouldn't count on it as they are just 7-9-1 for the season on their home ice. I've seen them drop a number of games this season by two or more goals so if you expect them to lose, the chances are that they will lose by more than one goal. They are likely to put Jonathan Quick in the net tonight. He's done a decent job in his limited outings this season with a 5-4-0 record, 2.69 goals against per game, and a .907 save percentage. He only has nine starts this year, but he has two shutouts in those nine games. He struggled in his three December starts, allowing at least three goals in each, and a total of 14 goals. In his two relief appearances, he allowed just 1 goal in 60 minutes of ice time.

This is a really intriguing game to me because I think if the Bruins win, the right play here is to take them on the puck line at a tasty +230 clip. However, at some point the travel and number of games will catch up to them. They aren't playing great hockey, and Quick hasn't been the most reliable starting goalie, so I think I lean toward the Rangers, but the total of 5.5 seems too low. I'll back the over in this one.

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