Bruins Odds: Boston Hoping To Rebound Vs. Jets As Road Trip Begins
After suffering an embarrassing loss on home ice Tuesday, the Boston Bruins will look to put that performance behind them Thursday night when they return to action in Winnipeg against a Jets team that already has beaten them handily once this season.
The Bruins fell to 9-2 at home to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at -108 on the NHL moneyline, in an easy OVER result for totals bettors at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Nine different members of the Kings scored on Tuesday, including winger Milan Lucic who was making his return to Boston following a trade in the offseason.
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask was pulled after giving up five Los Angeles goals on 32 shots Tuesday, with backup Jonas Gustavsson not faring any better as he allowed four goals on 25 shots. Brad Marchand and Tyler Randell had the Boston goals in the losing cause, with defenseman Torey Krug taking the ugliest stat line of the night with no points and a -4 rating.
Boston is now 2-3 in its past five games, with the two victories in that span coming against the Buffalo Sabres in a home-and-home set on February 4 and February 6. That has the Bruins sitting at 28-19-6 on the season and still in the mix for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings — who all still trail the Florida Panthers.
The Jets are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the Blues in St. Louis on Tuesday night, with Bryan Little providing the goal in regulation time and Connor Hellebuyck stopping 21 of 22 St. Louis shots. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, fresh off signing a five-year, $38 million contract extension, set up Little’s goal in the second period. Byfuglien has 33 points on the season.
Winnipeg, though, is 24-26-3 on the season and sitting in last place in the Central Division standings heading into Thursday’s contest — putting it out of the current playoff picture.
The Jets and Bruins met for the first time this season way back on Oct. 8, with Boston losing 6-2 as a -111 home favorite on the NHL betting lines at the sportsbooks in that OVER result. Rask surrendered five goals on 31 shots in that game, with David Krejci and David Pastrnak scoring the Bruins’ goals. Ondrej Pavelec had been between the pipes for the Jets.
Overall the Bruins are 1-3 in their last four games against the Jets dating back two seasons, while the OVER only paid off that one time in the last eight games between the two teams.
Thumbnail via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
