Fans, Bettors Wondering If Bruins Have Snapped Out of Their Slump
Suffice to say that the Boston Bruins hadn?t been playing their best hockey of late. They had been just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, their effort had been questioned and the typically impenetrable Tim Thomas was showing some cracks.
On Sunday, though, the Bruins skated into Washington and left the Verizon Center with a convincing 4-1 victory. Tim Thomas made 35 saves, the team took care of the little things and they flat-out dominated the Capitals.
Now the question is whether or not they can keep that momentum going.
Odds to Win the 2012 Stanley Cup
Boston Bruins: 6/1
Vancouver Canucks: 13/2
A new trend?or simply an aberration?
It seems weird to say this, but the Bruins haven?t won back-to-back games in nearly a month. On Wednesday, they?ll visit the slumping Buffalo Sabres and will have a shot at stringing together consecutive wins for the first time since January 10th and 12th, when they beat the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens.
So it begs the question: was Sunday?s win just another one-off or was it the start of a trend? On one hand, the Capitals are clearly not what they used to be. They have just 58 points on the season and if the playoffs started today, they?d be on the outside looking in.
At the same time, the Capitals had been playing better since former head coach Bruce Boudreau was fired and Dale Hunter took over, and their 18 home wins are the most in the Eastern Conference. It?s not supposed to be easy to win at the Verizon Center, yet the Bruins made it look that way.
The 4-1 win over Washington felt different than the previous 4-3 win over Ottawa or the 6-5 shootout win over Philadelphia. In both games, the Bruins barely squeaked by. Against Washington, the Bruins were in control the entire way.
We?ll find out whether this was just a one-off when the Bruins visit the hapless Sabres on Wednesday, whom they are 2-0 against so far this season.
Odds to Win the 2012 NHL Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins: 11/4
New York Rangers: 4/1
Philadelphia Flyers: 11/2
On the road again
The Bruins will enter Tuesday just three points out of first place in the Eastern Conference but there?s a noticeable difference between them and the first-place New York Rangers: how few games they?ve played on the road.
The Bruins have played 28 home games, which is the most out of the current playoff teams in the Eastern Conference. Concurrently, their 23 road games are the fewest among any of those top eight teams.
That means the B?s will play some catch-up with a couple of key road trips. Their visit to Washington was their first of eight road games in their next 10. They?ll visit Buffalo on Wednesday, come back to face the Nashville Predators and the aforementioned Rangers, then head out on the road for a six-game road trip. It?s going to be quite the compact journey as they?ll play six contests in only 11 days.
They also have a mid-March stretch of six road games through eight games overall, including a West Coast trip. Other than that, the schedule is fairly balanced.
The Bruins currently have the best road winning percentage in the NHL.
