In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators take the ice at Canadian Tire Centre for a divisional tilt. New England Sports Network will showcase the game, and the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23.
Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators Odds
Boston (-140) is currently favored over Ottawa (+120). The Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals and initially opened at -115 for the over and -105 for the under. Those odds have shifted, however, and they now sit at -125 to bet the over, +105 for the under.
Ottawa is 4-3 straight up (SU) and has netted 3.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Atlantic Division in this young season, is a surprising improvement over the 28-54 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Through seven regular season contests, five of the team’s games have gone over the total, while one has gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team’s 3-2 SU at home.
The Senators have successfully found the net on 27.3 percent of their power play chances so far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last season, when they were ranked 26th in the league by scoring on 16.5 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has improved slightly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 76.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 27th overall last season) to 76.9 percent this year.
As a collective unit, the Senators have been penalized 4.4 times per game this season, a number that has regressed some from the 3.5 penalties per game they gave up last year. After serving an average of 8.1 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to kill penalties for 9.1 minutes per matchup this year.
With a .920 save percentage and 34.7 saves per game, Craig Anderson (4-2-1) has been the principal option in goal for Ottawa this season. If Ottawa chooses to give him the night off, however, the team could turn to Mike Condon (0-1-1 record, .828 save percentage, 5.02 goals against average).
The Sens will continue seeking leadership from Chris Tierney and Thomas Chabot. Tierney (nine points) is up to two goals and seven assists while Chabot has two goals and seven assists to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
Boston is 4-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.9 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through eight regular season matches, four of its games have gone over the total, while another four have gone under the total and none have pushed. As a road team so far, the Bruins are 1-4 SU.
The Bruins have scored on 22.7 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 25.0 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (when the team ranked second in the league in that category). The team’s gone from killing off 82.5 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked fourth overall last season) to 73.9 percent this year.
Boston’s skaters have been penalized 4.6 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed some from the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.4 penalty minutes per game a year ago (eighth-most in the league), the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 11.8 minutes per outing this season.
Jaroslav Halak (22.4 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Boston. Halak has two wins, three losses, and two OT losses to his credit, while registering a .933 save percentage and 1.74 goals against average this year.
Patrice Bergeron (six goals, seven assists) and Brad Marchand (two goals, 10 assists) have been the top playmakers for Boston and will lead the attack for the visiting Bruins.
Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Trends
Boston has scored 3.4 goals per game as a team this season, but is averaging 1.7 goals per contest over its three-game losing skid.
The Bruins are 2-1 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Senators are 2-0 SU when they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
The total has gone over in three of Ottawa’s last five games.
Ottawa has allowed 3.6 goals per game overall this year, but has brought that figure down to 1.7 per matchup across its three-game winning streak.
*****
