The Eastern Conference NHL standings may be a bit of a surprise to some as we expected to see Boston near the top, but the New York Rangers have not only taken the baton in the East, but they’re running with it and they’re taking a seven-point lead into the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday night to face the Bruins.
Rangers Bruins Odds – Tuesday, 7:00 PM ET
New York (36-13-5) have now won three in a row after a 3-2 victory at home over Washington (one of the preseason 5dimes favorites to win the Stanley Cup) on Sunday afternoon, and Ryan Callahan lit the lamp for the fifth time in three games to lead the way. Ryan McDonagh and Brandon Prust also scored, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 24 shots for the Rangers, who gave up a late goal to keep it interesting, but held on. Those who are betting March Madness will see Madison Square Garden being taken over for the Big East tournament in about a month, but the Rangers will be playing some meaningful games there as well and another win over the Bruins to go with their 3-2 overtime victory from January 21st in the Big Apple.
The Bruins (34-17-2) needed a late goal from Milan Lucic to force overtime on Saturday afternoon, and then pulled out a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville to stay within shouting distance of the Rangers. Patrice Bergeron and Dan Paille netted singles for the Bruins, while Tim Thomas made 19 saves as Boston outshot the Predators 41-22. The Bruins also did a good job in the faceoff dot, winning 38 of 64 against the Predators, and Boston is a solid team at doing those little things to win a hockey game. They should end up winning the Northeast Division and if they can go into the postseason healthy, the Bruins are going to be a favorite of players that are familiar with price per head bookie services when it comes to defending their championship.
Boston should be the home favorites in this crucial NHL betting contest, even though the Rangers are 4-1 SU and 3-0-2 ATS in their last five trips to Beantown, with three games coming in under the posted total (along with two pushes). The January 21st battle ended when Marian Gaborik scored on the power play with 3.6 seconds remaining at Madison Square Garden, after Andrew Ference earned a five-minute major and a misconduct for hitting McDonagh from behind. The Rangers were also physical in that game with 27 hits to 12 for the Bruins, and they’ll need to take that play into Boston because the Bruins will want to defend their home turf. In a hard-hitting game, lean towards the Bruins to get revenge on the road when you’re sports betting online on Tuesday.
