Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins odds, picks and prediction
The Boston Bruins (14-8-4) and Pittsburgh Penguins (18-9-1) will play the second half of a back-to-back on the Penguins' home ice of PPG Paints Arena Tuesday. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Bruins-Penguinsodds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Penguins, third, grew their lead over the Bruins, fourth, in the East Division with a 4-1 victory Monday. It was Pittsburgh's sixth straight win since the start of March. Boston has lost five of seven games this month with each of the last two coming by multi-goal margins.
The Bruins won both halves of a two-game head-to-head set in Boston in late January; the first of those went to overtime.
Bruins at Penguins: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.
- Money line : Bruins +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Penguins -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS : Bruins +1.5 (-275) | Penguins -1.5 (+225)
- Over/Under : 5.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
Bruins at Penguins: Projected starting goalies
Daniel Vladar (0-0-0, .000 SV%, 0.00 GAA) vs. Casey DeSmith (6-2-0, .912 SV%, 2.23 GAA)
Vladar, a third-round pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, is set to make his first NHL start and just his second appearance after allowing 3 goals on 15 shots in one game last season. Jaroslav Halak started and took the loss Monday, and Tuukka Rask (back) remains sidelined by injury.
DeSmith has won two straight outings and three of his last four games, including a 24-save shutout victory over the Buffalo Sabres Saturday. He has stopped 75 of 78 shots in three games since Feb. 28, but his best performances this season have been on the road.
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Bruins at Penguins: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Penguins 5, Bruins 3
Money line (ML)
The PENGUINS (-120) are a fine play coming off Monday's 3-goal win.
Boston opened the scoring but Pittsburgh went up 2-1 by the end of the first period, added a power-play marker in the second frame and finished things off with a late empty-netter. Boston registered 59.55% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts Monday but scoring chances at full strength were split 50-50.
Most importantly, the Bruins will be turning to an inexperienced goaltender for their second road game in two days. Expect Penguins Cs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to give him a rude welcome.
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Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the puck line with only a slight lean to Penguins -1.5 (+225). It took special teams play and an ENG to secure the multi-goal win and puck line cover Monday.
DeSmith has been hot of late, but he was prone to some bad goals early in the season.
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 5.5 (-120) is the top bet for this game.
Both teams have lengthy injury reports mainly consisting of defensemen. Add in tired legs, a growing sense of desperation for Boston and Vladar's first NHL start, and it adds up to 6-plus goals fairly quickly.
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