by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Mar 04, 2023
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Where to watch: ABC
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Bruins -170, Rangers +145
FanDuel: Bruins -170, Rangers +145
BetMGM: Bruins -170, Rangers +145
Caesars: Bruins -170, Rangers +145
Season record
Rangers: 35-18-9
Bruins: 48-8-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Rangers - Bruins preview, prediction and analysis
The New York Rangers will be playing the Boston Bruins on Saturday, March 4 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The New York Rangers lost against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York with a score of 5-3. The New York Rangers currently rank 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
The New York Rangers lost their first game with Patrick Kane. The forward, traded to the Rangers by the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team deal that included the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, was minus-2 with four shots on goal in 19:36 of ice time in his first game since Feb. 22.
"The crowd and coming out for warmups and the pregame introduction, first game as a Ranger was a pretty cool experience," said Kane, who played his first 16 NHL seasons with Chicago. "Obviously I would have liked to play a little bit better and come out with a win. Hopefully it will come. I haven't played in a little bit, maybe a little bit rusty, but excited to get feeling good with this team."
Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba and Vladimir Tarasenko scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for New York (35-18-9), which is 2-4-1 since a seven-game winning streak. The Rangers won 3-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime Wednesday.
New York failed to convert on a five-minute major and game misconduct given to Austin Watson for charging Tyler Motte and was 0-for-4 on the power play. Watson elbowed Motte in the face against the glass at 12:49 of the first. Motte left the game with an upper-body injury, and Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said the forward is day to day.
"There was some good and there was a lot of bad, but there was some real good stuff too," Gallant said. "They were good 5-on-5 for the most part, but I thought the power play hurt us, just trying to be too pretty and too many passes. Bottom line is you have to put the puck in the net, and we didn't do that."
Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:31 of the first period with a backhand on a breakaway after Adam Fox fed him at center ice.
Shane Pinto tied it 1-1 by banking in a rebound at 9:42 of the second period. Mathieu Joseph then won a puck battle in the corner and found Derick Brassard for a tip-in and a 2-1 lead at 10:03. It was Ottawa's second goal in 21 seconds.
Trouba tied it 2-2 at 12:15 by getting open in front and deflecting a shot off Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot.
Tarasenko put New York ahead 3-2 at 14:54, taking Mika Zibanejad's stretch pass from behind the blue line and finishing a partial breakaway. It was his second goal in two games -- he scored the game-winner Wednesday -- and fourth in 11 games since he was traded to the Rangers by the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 9.
Brassard (1:36) and Claude Giroux (3:26) scored 1:51 apart in the third for a 4-3 Senators lead.
Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk's goal at 5:22 was overturned after New York challenged for offside, but Tim Stutzle scored into an empty net at 17:18 for the 5-3 final.
The New York Rangers have won five of their last 10 games.
The Boston Bruins won against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 2 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 7-1. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.
David Pastrnak and Dmitry Orlov each had a goal and two assists for the Boston Bruins in their ninth straight win.
Pastrnak signed an eight-year, $90 million contract Thursday morning. It has an annual average value of $11.25 million.
Jakub Lauko scored twice, and Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves for the Bruins (48-8-5), who extended their season-high winning streak. Boston (101) became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season, doing so in 61 games. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens held the previous record at 62 games.
"For me personally, it doesn't mean that much," Bruins coach and Montreal native Jim Montgomery said. "We try to stay in the moment, and we've been doing that. We started off 11-1, and I was like, 'Man, that's unreal,' and then you catch yourself and you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have. It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great, because with the schedule and everything, it's really impressive."
Boston forward Brad Marchand exited in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
"We think it's going to be all right, but we're not positive yet," Montgomery said.
The goalies exchanged big stops through the first 32 minutes to keep it level, with Swayman stopping a JJ Peterka breakaway at 14:55 of the first period, and Luukkonen responding with back-to-back split saves on each leg against Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha two minutes into the second period.
Orlov broke through to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:01 of the second period. He fired a one-timer from the right face-off circle on a 4-on-3 power play after Pastrnak got tripped by Luukkonen to set up the man-advantage.
Orlov has eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games since he was traded to Boston from the Washington Capitals on Feb. 23.
"It's special to be here," Orlov said. "We're playing good hockey right now, especially today. Maybe [Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win against Calgary] wasn't great, but we still found a way to win, and it's important. It's what good teams do."
Lauko made it 2-0 at 13:27, scoring on a rebound out in front after Brandon Carlo shot on net from behind the right circle and Luukkonen redirected the puck. Zacha made it 3-0 at 8:35 of the third period, firing off David Krejci's backhand feed across the net front and scoring in his third straight game.
Pastrnak made it 4-0 at 14:44 of the third period on an empty-net goal from the left circle before Casey Mittelstadt cut it to 4-1 at 15:40.
Patrice Bergeron extended it to 5-1 at 16:39 on a short-handed, empty-net goal. Connor Clifton followed up with a short-handed goal 24 seconds later at 17:03 to make it 6-1. Lauko scored his second goal with 52 seconds left for the 7-1 final.
"Every game matters. We need the points," Swayman said. "It's special to see these guys respond the way we did after a long flight, a long road trip, and keep that winning momentum going. I got the best seat in the house. It's pretty special watching these guys do what they do."
The Boston Bruins have won nine of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Bruins 4, Rangers 2
The New York Rangers lost against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York with a score of 5-3. The New York Rangers currently rank 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
The New York Rangers lost their first game with Patrick Kane. The forward, traded to the Rangers by the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team deal that included the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, was minus-2 with four shots on goal in 19:36 of ice time in his first game since Feb. 22.
"The crowd and coming out for warmups and the pregame introduction, first game as a Ranger was a pretty cool experience," said Kane, who played his first 16 NHL seasons with Chicago. "Obviously I would have liked to play a little bit better and come out with a win. Hopefully it will come. I haven't played in a little bit, maybe a little bit rusty, but excited to get feeling good with this team."
Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba and Vladimir Tarasenko scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for New York (35-18-9), which is 2-4-1 since a seven-game winning streak. The Rangers won 3-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime Wednesday.
New York failed to convert on a five-minute major and game misconduct given to Austin Watson for charging Tyler Motte and was 0-for-4 on the power play. Watson elbowed Motte in the face against the glass at 12:49 of the first. Motte left the game with an upper-body injury, and Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said the forward is day to day.
"There was some good and there was a lot of bad, but there was some real good stuff too," Gallant said. "They were good 5-on-5 for the most part, but I thought the power play hurt us, just trying to be too pretty and too many passes. Bottom line is you have to put the puck in the net, and we didn't do that."
Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:31 of the first period with a backhand on a breakaway after Adam Fox fed him at center ice.
Shane Pinto tied it 1-1 by banking in a rebound at 9:42 of the second period. Mathieu Joseph then won a puck battle in the corner and found Derick Brassard for a tip-in and a 2-1 lead at 10:03. It was Ottawa's second goal in 21 seconds.
Trouba tied it 2-2 at 12:15 by getting open in front and deflecting a shot off Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot.
Tarasenko put New York ahead 3-2 at 14:54, taking Mika Zibanejad's stretch pass from behind the blue line and finishing a partial breakaway. It was his second goal in two games -- he scored the game-winner Wednesday -- and fourth in 11 games since he was traded to the Rangers by the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 9.
Brassard (1:36) and Claude Giroux (3:26) scored 1:51 apart in the third for a 4-3 Senators lead.
Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk's goal at 5:22 was overturned after New York challenged for offside, but Tim Stutzle scored into an empty net at 17:18 for the 5-3 final.
The New York Rangers have won five of their last 10 games.
The Boston Bruins won against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 2 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 7-1. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.
David Pastrnak and Dmitry Orlov each had a goal and two assists for the Boston Bruins in their ninth straight win.
Pastrnak signed an eight-year, $90 million contract Thursday morning. It has an annual average value of $11.25 million.
Jakub Lauko scored twice, and Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves for the Bruins (48-8-5), who extended their season-high winning streak. Boston (101) became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season, doing so in 61 games. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens held the previous record at 62 games.
"For me personally, it doesn't mean that much," Bruins coach and Montreal native Jim Montgomery said. "We try to stay in the moment, and we've been doing that. We started off 11-1, and I was like, 'Man, that's unreal,' and then you catch yourself and you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have. It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great, because with the schedule and everything, it's really impressive."
Boston forward Brad Marchand exited in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
"We think it's going to be all right, but we're not positive yet," Montgomery said.
The goalies exchanged big stops through the first 32 minutes to keep it level, with Swayman stopping a JJ Peterka breakaway at 14:55 of the first period, and Luukkonen responding with back-to-back split saves on each leg against Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha two minutes into the second period.
Orlov broke through to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:01 of the second period. He fired a one-timer from the right face-off circle on a 4-on-3 power play after Pastrnak got tripped by Luukkonen to set up the man-advantage.
Orlov has eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games since he was traded to Boston from the Washington Capitals on Feb. 23.
"It's special to be here," Orlov said. "We're playing good hockey right now, especially today. Maybe [Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win against Calgary] wasn't great, but we still found a way to win, and it's important. It's what good teams do."
Lauko made it 2-0 at 13:27, scoring on a rebound out in front after Brandon Carlo shot on net from behind the right circle and Luukkonen redirected the puck. Zacha made it 3-0 at 8:35 of the third period, firing off David Krejci's backhand feed across the net front and scoring in his third straight game.
Pastrnak made it 4-0 at 14:44 of the third period on an empty-net goal from the left circle before Casey Mittelstadt cut it to 4-1 at 15:40.
Patrice Bergeron extended it to 5-1 at 16:39 on a short-handed, empty-net goal. Connor Clifton followed up with a short-handed goal 24 seconds later at 17:03 to make it 6-1. Lauko scored his second goal with 52 seconds left for the 7-1 final.
"Every game matters. We need the points," Swayman said. "It's special to see these guys respond the way we did after a long flight, a long road trip, and keep that winning momentum going. I got the best seat in the house. It's pretty special watching these guys do what they do."
The Boston Bruins have won nine of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Bruins 4, Rangers 2
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
