The Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes are set to face off at PNC Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. NBC Sports Network will air the action, which gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 16.
Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes Odds
Boston (-120) is currently favored over Carolina (+100), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -125 under, +105 over.
Boston is 60-38 straight up (SU) and has earned 6.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 98 regular season outings, 53 of its games have gone under the total, while 41 have gone over and just four have pushed. The Bruins are 25-23 SU as a road team in 2018-19.
After accounting for the third-best power-play unit in the regular season (finding net on 26.8 percent of all opportunities), the Bruins have connected on 31.9 percent of their postseason power play opportunities. Their penalty kill’s gone from 80.9 percent in the regular season to 85.7 percent in the playoffs.
The Bruins’ offensive attack attempted 32.9 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.2 goals per contest (ranked 11th overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the club is attempting an average of 34.3 shots on goal ( 3.3 goals per game).
With a .920 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (38-24-6) has been the best option in goal for Boston this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Bruce Cassidy might turn to Jaroslav Halak (22-18-4), who has a .922 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average this year.
Carolina is 54-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 96 regular season contests, 51 of its games have gone under the total, while 43 have gone over and just two have pushed. It’s 29-18 SU at home this season.
The Hurricanes have converted on just 16.5 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of all penalties.
Petr Mrazek (24.7 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Hurricanes. Mrazek has 29 wins, 22 losses, and four OT losses and has maintained a 2.46 goals against average and a subpar .910 save percentage this year.
Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Over Boston’s last ten games, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-0 in those games).
- The Bruins are 28-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 42-25 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- Carolina is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Boston is 2-3 in shootouts.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in four of their last five outings.
- Boston is ranked 13th this season with 9.8 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as it’s averaged 8.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 6.8 giveaways over its last five.
- Carolina has averaged 10.8 giveaways over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 11.0 giveaways per game (ranked 19th in the league).
- The Hurricanes this season have tallied the seventh-most hits in the NHL (26.7 per game), but that number has risen to 32.0 over their last five home games.
