Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins Predictions, Picks and Preview – 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference First Round Game Three – April 17, 2017

Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins Game 3 Preview

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

When: Saturday, April 17, 2017 – 7:00 PM ET

Line: Ottawa Senators (+150) at Boston Bruins (-170); total: 5.0 – view all NHL lines

TV Broadcast: CNBC / SportsNet, TVAS

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Betting on the Ottawa Senators (+1.5)

Moneyline: +150

After surrendering homecourt advantage in Game 1, the Senators redeemed themselves in Game 2. They came back from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to win, 4-3, and it featured them scoring a pair of goals in between a span of 2:20 in the third.

Their 12-year veteran, Dion Phaneuf, completed the comeback by scoring a go-ahead goal at the 1:59 mark of overtime. It was his first career OT winner.

Kyle Turris (27 G, 28 A), Mike Hoffman (26 G, 35 A), and Erik Karlsson (17 G, 54 A) weren’t much factors on offense, but along with from Pheanuf, Ottawa also got scores from first-year Senator Derrick Brassard, second-year Chris Wideman, and seldom-used Clarke McArthur, who had his first goal in two seasons.

With the matchup now heading to Boston, we may see the Senators try to rely more on their main guys – Turris, Hoffman, etc. Both have yet to score or assist in the series, but their performances in the head-to-head during the regular season were good – Turris has three goals, while Hoffman has one goal and three assists.

Their defense has been great in the six total meetings with the Bruins this season (two are from the playoffs). Craig Anderson currently holds a .933 save percentage (155-for-166) in those matchups.

Betting on the Boston Bruins (-1.5)

Moneyline: -170

With the blown lead, which could have given them a comfortable two-zip lead instead of a 1-1 tie, the Bruins might be heading to Game 3 carrying a lot of frustration, so it’s good that the next contest will be held in front of their home crowd.

Despite stealing the home advantage, though, their combined head-to-head this season (regular season and playoffs) has been one-sided – 5-1 in favor of the Senators.

The Bruins, as you may remember, lost in each of the past four meetings prior to the playoffs, with the last two happening inside a three-week span (late March to early April) and both being held at TD Garden in Boston.

Goalie Tuuka Rask, meanwhile, is 1-4-1 when facing Ottawa this year, and only has a decent-at-best .905 save percentage (143-for-158).

Basing it off on what they’ve been doing in the six total matchups, it really doesn’t appear to be appealing, as they have lost all but one. It’s simple: Rask and the offense –  as led by Brad Marchand (39 G, 46 A) and David Pastrank (34 G, 36 A) – will have to wake up and play their best game of the entire series if they intend to keep the home advantage.

Writer’s Prediction

The Senators (+150) win, 3-2.

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