Only two days removed from a big Game 7 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins begin their second-round series against the well-rested Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden tonight. Sportsbooks opened the Bruins as -155 home favorites with a total of 5.5.
Blue Jackets vs Bruins Game Center
Standout Stats
- Trailing 3-2 in the series with action shifting back to Canada, the Bruins pulled out a crucial Game 6 win before easing into a 5-1 victory over Toronto to eliminate the Leafs from the playoffs for the third time in seven years.
- Eighth-seeded Columbus pulled off one of the biggest postseason stunners in NHL history by sweeping the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Columbus outscored Tampa 19-5 after the first period of the series opener, continuing a stretch that saw the Jackets go 7-1-0 SU in the final eight games of the regular season. The Jackets' first period odds are at +215, while the Bruins' chances come back at +145 at Sportsbook.
- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask was fantastic at the end of the first round, permitting only five goals in the last three games vs Toronto. Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 109 of 117 shots against the Bolts.
- Boston claimed both regular-season meetings with the Blue Jackets, topping Columbus 2-1 in overtime on March 16 and 6-2 on April 2. Bruins winger David Pastrnak missed both of those tilts but has scored at least 34 goals in each of the past three seasons.
- Three times in the 21st century has a team coming off a sweep met a team that recently played seven games in a series, and on all three occasions the club that previously went to Game 7 has won.
- Columbus was 5-for-10 on the power play in the first round, while Boston went 7-for-16 with the man advantage in its series against the Maple Leafs.
- When these teams get together, high-scoring affairs tend to follow. In the past 10 meetings between the Bruins and Blue Jackets, the OVER is 9-1 with an average combined score of eight goals.
My best bet for Blue Jackets-Bruins
Bruins moneyline
While Columbus’ first-round sweep over Tampa Bay was extremely impressive, I think the extended delay is going to work against them tonight. After all, the Blue Jackets haven’t laced them up since April 16. Boston is flying high after a huge Game 7 triumph over Toronto and will have some major home-ice advantage at the raucous TD Garden. I think this is going to be a long series, but the Bruins should take Game 1.
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of the Blue Jackets’ last 15 games on the road (avg. combined score: 4.8).away The Blue Jackets are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games on the road.away The Bruins are 13-4 SU in their last 17 games as home favorites.home
