Two teams going in opposite directions meet on Wednesday night, as the Boston Bruins visit the New York Rangers in a game that can be seen on NBCSN. The Bruins have won 8 of their last 10 to move into second place in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers have lost 7 of 10 to fall into last place in the division. This has not been a good series of late for the Bruins, as they have lost the last seven against New York.
Don't miss the ice action from Madison Square Garden at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on NBCSN.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Bruins have been rolling for weeks, as they have picked up a point in 20 of their last 21 games. They are now within striking distance of Tampa Bay for the top record in the Eastern Conference. Boston will be playing the second half of a back-to-back, as they were in Detroit on Tuesday.
Boston has been solid on the road this season, as they were 13-9 on the road before Tuesday’s game in Detroit. The Bruins have gone over 10 times on the road, under 11 times, with one push. They are scoring 3.2 goals per game and giving up 2.4 per contest.
The Rangers are 17-12 at home this season, with 17 games going over, 11 going under, with one push. They are scoring 2.9 goals per game and giving up 3 per contest. The Rangers will have had one day off, as they were in Dallas on Monday.
Not much has gone right for the Rangers this season and they are in danger of missing the playoffs. It was really ugly on Saturday in Nashville, as they were blown out 5-2. They were 6-10-2 in their previous 18 games before Monday’s game in Dallas. There is no question that head coach Alain Vigneault is on the hot seat and a mid-season firing is not out of the question.
New York simply makes too many mistakes to win consistently. “If you look at the difference of being a winning team and a losing team, you make the mistakes at the wrong time,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist to the New York Post after the loss to Nashville.
Rick Nash said that he sees the danger of the team playing without emotion. “That could easily creep in here,” Nash said. “I’ve seen it happen. I’ve been on teams where it’s happened. But I don’t think we’re anywhere close to done.”
Special Teams
Boston has excellent special teams, as they are 6th in the league on the power play at just over 22%, and they are 4th in penalty killing at over 83%. The Rangers are just average on special teams, as they rank 13th on the power play at 14th in penalty killing.
Key Stat
The Rangers have owned this series of late, winning the last seven. New York won 4-2 at home in early November and they won 3-2 in Boston in mid-December. Four of the last six meetings have gone over the total. New York has won the last five at home in this series, with the last three going over.
Free NHL Picks
What do you put stock in? Do you like the current play of the Bruins or do you go with the huge edge in the series trends in the favor of New York? I think the deciding factor is how Boston does playing with no rest. The Bruins are just 4-6 in their last 10 playing with no rest, but the interesting part is that four of their last five in that situation have gone over the total. I think the best play in this game on Wednesday is to take the game over the total.
NHL Odds: Bruins 4, Rangers 3
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