The No. 3 seeded Buffalo Sabres host the No. 6 seed Boston Bruins, Thursday April 15, as these two start their playoff run for the Cup. The Bruins won four of the six meetings and outscored the Sabres 15-11 in the season series, but two losses was without goalie Ryan Miller. NHL oddsmakers at BETUS.com have the Sabres as -165 moneyline favs to beat the Bruins (+145) with the over/under listed at 5 goals . Be sure to get your 2010 NHL Playoffs: 2010 NHL Playoffs: Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres Predictions in now at BETUS.com
The Bruins enter the playoffs winning six of their last ten games and four of five road games. They have one of the best goalies between the pipes right now. Boston rookie Tuukka Rask went 22-12-5 with a league-leading 1.97 GAA and .931 SVPCT. Goalie Tuukka Rask was 4-1-0 against Buffalo with a 1.43 GAA and a .954 SVPCT. "I think we match up well," Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said. "I don't know what the prognosticators will have, as far as predicting where the series is going to land, but I know it'll be a good one, and we look forward to starting it." Bruins center David Krejci has 12 points in the past 11 games. Left wing Milan Lucic and Chara each had four points in four games. Right wing Michael Ryder had two goals in the final game. Defenseman Dennis Wideman had five points in five games. Centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci led the Bruins with 52pts. Chara was third with 44pts; veteran Mark Recchi (the NHL's leading active scorer) was fourth with 43pts and led with eight power-play goals. Marco Sturm had 22 goals to top the Bruins.
The Sabres enter winning five of ten and four of last five on home ice. The Sabres also have a red hot goalie in net. Buffalo's Ryan Miller went 41-18-8 with a 2.22 GAA and .929 SVPCT. Goalie Ryan Miller was 2-0-2 against the Bruins with a 1.71 GAA and a .947 SVPCT . "It's great to be back in," Ruff said Monday. "You've got to be excited to be back in again because a couple years of being absent really hurt." Thomas Vanek had four goals on Saturday in his return after missing six games with a lower-body injury, then added another on Sunday. Roy had four points in two games. Miller was 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .935 SVPCT in his last two games. Center Derek Roy led the Sabres with 69pts; Tim Connolly was second with 65pts and led with 48 assists. Right wing Jason Pominville was third with 62pts and Vanek led with 28 goals and was fourth with 53 points. Roy and Vanek had a team-high eight power-play goals and six game-winners each. Bruins center Marc Savard is out for the season with a head injury and he’s a crucial piece of the Bruins success.
Head to Head – Don't expect a lot of goals in this series. Boston was the NHL's second-best defensive team, allowing only 2.33 goals per game, and Buffalo was fourth, allowing only 2.45 per game. Buffalo was 17th on the power play with 17.6 percent efficiency while Boston was 23rd, scoring 16.6 percent. Buffalo killed 86.6 percent of its penalties, second-best in the NHL. Boston killed 86.4 percent, third-best. Boston averaged 31.7 shots per game; Buffalo averaged 31.6, 7th and 8th, respectively. Boston allowed 29.8 shots per game, 14th; Buffalo allowed 31.4, 21st. Boston won 52.6 percent of faceoffs, 2nd-best; Buffalo won 48.6, 23rd. Buffalo's 11.2 minutes of penalties per game was fourth-lowest. Boston's 11.6 was 11th-lowest. The Bruins had the third-fewest third-period goals in the NHL.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Under is 3-0-2 in the last 5 meetings.
- Under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings in Buffalo.
- Bruins are 5-13 in the last 18 meetings in Buffalo.
- Sabres are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite.
- Bruins are 5-1 in their last 6 road games.
- Sabres are 4-1 in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Sabres are 4-1 in their last 5 home games.
Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres
When: Thursday April 15, 2010 7:00 PM ET
Line: BETUS.com
Pick: Sabres -165
Point-Spreads.com 2010 NHL Playoffs: Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres Odds & Predictions
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