The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2007, but they’re in peril of striking out this season. That said, there are still plenty of games remaining on schedule, giving the Pens ample time to improve their status. They’ll be tested later tonight by the high-scoring Boston Bruins, who are looking to win their third-straight versus the Pens this season.
Read on for a breakdown of this matchup. You can also check out our NBA preview for the Thunder vs. Mavs game.
For a team with so much talent, the Penguins should be gunning for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Instead, Pittsburgh is barely hanging onto the second and last wild card slot in the Eastern Conference.
The Pens have been very inconsistent of late, as they’ve failed to win consecutively over their last seven games. During that stretch, they’ve lost to the likes of the Rangers, Panthers, and Lightning and won against the Ducks, Red Wings, and Sabres.
But if there’s one thing that remained consistent in that span, it’s Pittsburgh’s embarrassing performance on the power play, as the Pens have gone 0-for-15 on the man advantage since February 8.
That’s not a reason to totally dismiss Pittsburgh’s offense though—not with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang playing well. Crosby, who recorded an assist in a 4-3 win over Buffalo on Sunday, has eight goals and seven assists in 10 games thus far this month. Crosby also had two assists, albeit in a 6-2 loss to Boston on December 18.
As for Letang, the playmaking defenseman has 12 points this February, including the three assists he served his teammates in the Buffalo game.
Marc-Andre Fleury, who didn’t play in the previous two matchups with Boston, is expected to start later tonight. Fleury has a 5-2-1 record with a 2.75 GAA and .904 SV% over his last eight starts.
Pittsburgh is 5-2 in Fleury’s last seven starts in TD Garden.
Betting on the Boston Bruins (32-22-6)
Now that’s a bad beat. After ending a six-game road trip on a high note by defeating Dallas on Saturday, the Bruins were upset at home by Columbus on Monday, 6-4.
Boston was supposed to beat the Blue Jackets, as it was priced -151 as home fave in that game. But no thanks to a sloppy defense that allowed Columbus to win the shots battle, 35-30, and score two power play goals on three attempts, the Bruins were left to lose their third in five games.
Goalie Jonas Gustavsson was just plain bad in that game, allowing five goals. He’s unlikely to start tonight though, as the Bruins are expected to call on Tuukka Rask’s name. Rask was in front of the net in the Bruins’ two victories over Pittsburgh last December, allowing just two total goals on 66 shots faced.
Boston, however, isn’t really known for its defensive prowess this season with the team ranking just 19th overall with 2.7 goals allowed per game. Much of the Bruins’ success is mostly built on the back of their offense that is third in the league with 3.0 goals per game.
Brad Marchand is arguably Boston’s best player as of the moment, as the forward has been playing like a man possessed lately. Marchand has 15 goals in his last 16 games to go along with five assists.
Boston is 5-1 in its last six home games against the Penguins.
