Bruins Look to Extinguish High-Scoring Flames

The Boston Bruins (38-11-12) will go for their fifth consecutive victory on Friday when they visit the Calgary Flames (31-24-6) as they continue a four-game road trip through Canada. The Bruins edged the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday as -185 road underdogs and saw the UNDER cash for the fifth time in a row overall as well.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Flames have received early support from bettors, who may believe they can find a way to outscore their stingy opponent in a fast-paced game. It is worth noting that the total has closed as low as 5.5 in only two of Calgary’s last 10 games and went OVER both times.

Boston News & Notes

Boston’s two goalies have again been stellar this season, even better than last year overall. Backup Jaroslav Halak (15-6-6, 2.31 goals-against average) could very well earn the start in this spot since he has not been in net since last Sunday’s 3-1 victory against the New York Rangers that started the team’s road trip, especially since this is the first game of a back-to-back situation.

The Bruins have dropped two of three under this scenario recently after winning six of seven, according to the Odds Shark NHL Database.

That said, Halak has still won his past four starts between the pipes, allowing only one goal in each of his last three. If regular starter Tuukka Rask (23-5-6, 2.04 GAA) gets the call instead, he has posted very similar numbers lately, winning three in a row and giving up just one goal per game. 

Calgary News & Notes

The Flames have headed down a similar path as last season despite not winning nearly as many games as they did en route to earning the 2018-19 Pacific Division title. While their scoring is down significantly, averaging 2.85 goals compared to 3.52 a year ago, their success has been seemingly tied to scoring a lot again, which should surprise nobody.

Calgary has won four of its last six games, scoring exactly six goals in each of the wins, with the OVER on a 6-0 run during that six-game stretch. If the Flames can stay hot offensively, they can definitely cool off the defending Eastern Conference champions and pull off the upset here as home dogs.

Betting Pick: OVER 5.5

Boston has surrendered a single goal in four straight games, winning all of them. This team has also not scored more than four since February 1, which is a bit surprising considering its offensive firepower. Calgary obviously needs to solve Halak or Rask to pick up a win here but has scored more (3.10 goals per game) and given up more (3.38) at the Saddledome.