NHL Betting Picks: Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins

Added on Nov 09, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NHL

Six games on the NHL hockey betting board for Wednesday, and we’ll take a look at a matchup between a pair of Eastern Conference contenders as the Boston Bruins play the Penguins at Pittsburgh. The Penguins have gotten off to a slow start this season, entering this game at 7-7-1 and tied for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins are also in second place in their division, but with a record of 7-3-1 leaving them just behind Northeast leading Montreal.

Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins
November 10, 2010 4:05 PM Pacific

The Penguins are off a hard fought win at Phoenix, but its hard to figure out what direction this team is heading in. They’ve certainly got the talent but have also had a tendency to start the season slowly. Before the win over the Coyotes, the Penguins had lost five of six. Sidney Crosby is playing well, but otherwise the team is middle of the pack in both scoring offense and scoring defense. They’ve also lost 4 of their 6 home games in regulation.

Boston, meanwhile, has won 6 of 9 (despite dropping their last two games) and actually has an offense this season to go along with that stifling defense. The Bruins are tied for 7th in scoring offense (3.00 goals per game) and 2nd in scoring defense (1.73 goals against per game). They’ve also played excellent hockey on the road with a 5-1-0 record away from the TD BankNorth Garden.

So we’ve got the team with the better overall record in better recent form that plays better defense and offense–and plays well on the road against a weak home team. Guess who the favorite is–and guess which side we’re on. We’ll gladly take Boston as an underdog. Classic case where you’re ‘paying’ for the name on the jersey which gives us great value with a road underdog that has outperformed their host in every phase of the game this season. We’ll also take this game Under the total–once again, you’re ‘paying’ for the public perception of the high scoring Penguins when this game will be dictated by the nasty defense of the Bruins. 3 of the 4 meetings last year and 3 of the last 4 in Pittsburgh have gone Under.

Bet Boston Bruins +105 over Pittsburgh Penguins
Bet Boston/Pittsburgh Under 5′ -120