Bruins And Flames Should See Plenty Of Offense

Bruins vs. Flames, 9:08 ET

I'm back with more hockey for you guys! I know that fires you up like the burning of 1,000 flames, but please try to contain the excitement. I've been very open about how much of a struggle this season has been. However, I think it is fair to also mention that I am 4-1 over my last five plays and looking to keep rolling as I try to bounce back on what has been a disastrous first half of the season. Tonight, I've got my eyes set on the Bruins and Flames as they play in Calgary. 

The Bruins are not the best team in hockey like they were last season, but they still deserve some fear and respect from their opponents. It isn't like they are some sort of terrible squad or anything. It is just that they aren't the success that they were last year. They are still first in the Atlantic Division and are 34-12-11 on the season, including 16-5-6 away from their home ice. What do the Bruins do well? Pretty much everything - they are one of the best offenses in the sport, scoring 3.37 goals per game. They have one of the best defenses in the game with a 2.68 goals allowed per game average. They are effective at scoring on the Power Play, and they are dominant when they are trying to kill the opponent's Power Play. The only shocking stat that they have to me is that they are allowing more shots per game than they are taking. I'm not sure if that is because opponents have to attack more to keep up with the Bruins scoring or it is a result of the Bruins defense having holes but the goalie being effective. It isn't confirmed, but right now Linus Ullmark is expected to be in the net. He's been very good for the Bruins, as you'd expect, given their record. 

The Flames are basically the definition of average. On the season they are 26-25-5 and 13-13-1 at home. The good news is they are competitive, but the bad news is that it likely won't result in a playoff appearance for the team. To further the reputation of the Flames being average, they are allowing 3.09 goals per game and only scoring 3.07. They do take one more shot per game than opponents, but it isn't a drastic difference. Calgary should have an edge over penalty minutes, but they don't even take advantage of that, scoring on just 14.4% of their Power Play advantages. They have lost three of their past five contests, and were shut out in two of those games. This is their fourth consecutive home game and they have an edge over the Bruins because this is not a back-to-back, whereas it is for the Bruins who had to travel and played in overtime last night. Does that mean they will win? Not necessarily. They don't have the same talent, and unlike other sports, hockey players tend to give their full effort every night. They probably will have starter Jakob Markstrom in the net. He's been very strong in terms of save percentage (.913%) and goals allowed per game (2.60).

The Flames did win the first game against the Bruins in Boston. That was a strong performance from the Flames in a stretch where Boston was playing some bad hockey. I'm not sure that the Bruins are out of the woods just yet, but they have won the past two games and I've seen them string together wins quite a bit this season. I think the best play here is to take the over. The Bruins defense isn't quite as sharp right now and even though the offense of the Flames isn't consistent at the moment, they should be able to find the back of the net in this one. In addition, the Bruins offense is heating up, having scored four or more goals in the past three games. I'll back over 5.5 in this one. 

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