Bruins Take on Capitals in First-Round Tune-Up

The Boston Bruins take on the Washington Capitals for the eighth time this season in a game that now has no bearing on the final standings. The Bruins and Capitals are locked into a first-round playoff series, with Washington earning home-ice advantage. The Bruins have won four of the seven meetings so far this year.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The game opened with the Capitals as favorites at -115 and the line has moved down slightly to either -110 or -112 depending on the sportsbook. The total opened at 5.5 and has stayed at that number with the OVER favored at some books and the UNDER favored at others – all in the -115 range.

Boston News & Notes

There was plenty of jockeying for position within the East Division and the Bruins ended up in third place, so they’ll have to win on the road to get through rival Washington. The Bruins have the second-best goal differential at +33 as they paired solid offensive production with the second-fewest goals allowed in the division this season.

Goaltending has been a big reason for the Bruins’ success and they got back starter Tuukka Rask – who played in just one game between March 7 and April 15 due to injury – just in time for the playoffs. Rask has won six of eight starts since returning.

Newcomer Taylor Hall has also provided a big boost for the B’s since being acquired at the trade deadline, registering eight goals and 14 points in 16 games. The former league MVP had just two goals and 19 points in 37 games with the Sabres before the deal.

Washington News & Notes

The Capitals have been a dominant team offensively, leading the NHL in even-strength goals and ranking highly in several other key possession metrics. However, injuries are threatening to derail the Caps’ playoff push before it even starts.

Third-leading scorer T.J. Oshie was hurt in Saturday’s win over Philadelphia and was not able to practice Monday. The winger is questionable for Tuesday’s game and his status for Game 1 on Saturday is up in the air. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson – maybe the team’s three best players – were all absent from Saturday’s game with lower-body injuries but did participate in Monday’s practice. They are questionable for Tuesday. Meanwhile, Evgeny Kuznetsov and starting goalie Ilya Samsonov remain in the league’s COVID-19 protocol and have no timetable for their return.

Rookie goalie Vitek Vanecek is likely to start in Samsonov’s place. He is 20-10-4 this season with a .907 save percentage.