The Boston Bruins will be searching for an end to a three-game losing streak when they open a four-game road trip Wednesday against the struggling Anaheim Ducks.
Boston came up short on both ends of a home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs last weekend, capped by a 4-1 loss as -139 home favorites on Saturday that dropped the club to a middling 6-6-4 on the season ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup at Honda Center.
Goal production continues to be a serious concern for the Bruins, who have been outscored by an 11-5 overall margin during their current three-game slide, and now rank 20th in the NHL in goals scored per game with 2.75. Things have been particularly tough for Boston on the road, where the club has recorded just one victory in six outings this season while surrendering 3.7 goals per game.
The Bruins have been badly bitten by the injury bug. Forwards David Krejci, Ryan Spooner, and David Backes, as well as blueliner Adam McQuaid remain sidelined. That has placed a heavier burden on David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron, who have accounted for half of Boston’s 44 goals to date, and three of the club’s five markers over the past three games. Krejci could return to action during the Bruins’ current road trip.
The Ducks also enter the week looking for answers after failing to pay out as +127 home underdogs on the NHL betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay, dropping them to 1-3-2 over their past six games.
Anaheim has tallied at least 103 points in each of the past four seasons, reaching the Western Conference final in two of the past three seasons, and entered the current campaign as a +1500 bet on the Stanley Cup odds. But following their 7-7-3 start, the Ducks sit outside the playoff picture and have seen their Stanley Cup futures slip to +2200.
Eastern Conference squads also have held the upper hand in recent visits to Anaheim. The Ducks have lost five of eight home dates against Eastern opponents, including four of six this season, and have been held to a single goal on three occasions over their past four.
However, the Bruins have not fared much better in recent swings through California. Boston has tallied just one win in seven visits to Anaheim since 2003, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
The Bruins also take a 2-4-1 record in their past seven games against Los Angeles into Thursday’s clash with the Kings, and they are 2-3-0 in their past five visits to San Jose, where they face the Sharks on Saturday.
