Bruins Focus: Odds, Preview For Boston’s Games Vs. Senators, Oilers

The Boston Bruins return home Tuesday night and look to get back in the win column.

Boston is coming off a tough 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend and welcome the lowly Ottawa Senators to TD Garden for the first of a two-game homestand before hitting the road. Besides COVID-19 making its way through the Sens locker room, they also are 0-3-1 in the month of November.

The Bruins, who got a much-needed goal from David Pastrnak in Saturday’s loss, will need him to carry that momentum over and find his groove alongside Brad Marchand, who’s on a three-game point streak.

Let’s take a look at the week ahead:
Tuesday, Nov. 9 vs. Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, Nov. 11 vs. Edmonton Oilers, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 13 at New Jersey Devils, 1 p.m. ET

What Bruins fans need to know
The Oilers are far and away the NHL’s best team on the power play, converting 50% of their chances, while the Bruins’ penalty kill ranks 21st in the league. Edmonton also has won five of its last six games and are in first place in the Pacific Division.

The Senators, meanwhile, are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that led them to cancel their morning skate Monday. Ottawa only is above the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division standings and has not won a game since Oct. 29 against the Dallas Stars.

The Devils are 5-3-2 this season and are coming off a shootout win against the San Jose Sharks. They’ve lost three of four and are the NHL’s third-worst team on the power play.

Who Bruins need to look out for
Connor McDavid (Oilers) — We don’t need to go into detail about why the Bruins need to watch out for McDavid. The star center has eight goals and 14 assists in 10 games for Edmonton ahead of its game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. McDavid is one of the best players in the NHL. He even took on four New York Rangers on Saturday before scoring the game-tying goal, so the B’s certainly will need to do all they can to limit him on the ice.

Drake Batherson (Senators) — His 12 points through Ottawa’s first 11 games is impressive, but Batherson also has won almost 78% of faceoffs. He also has three points on the power play and is pegged at +260 to score Tuesday against the Bruins.

Pavel Zacha (Devils) — Zacha is a bright spot for a lowly New Jersey team with his five goals and seven points. He also has a game-winning tally and power-play goal for the Devils.

Odds
The Bruins are the 1.5-goal favorites over the Devils for Tuesday’s game at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the over/under set at 5.5. If you’re not too confident in taking the over, David Pastrnak (+100), Patrice Bergeron (+135) and Brad Marchand (+135) are the favorites to pot a goal at any point during Tuesday’s contest.