Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/20/2023

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to watch: NESN, TSN5, RDS

DraftKings: Bruins -295, Senators +245

FanDuel: Bruins -345, Senators +270

BetMGM: Bruins -275, Senators +225

Caesars: Bruins -303, Senators +240

Senators: 27-24-4

Bruins: 42-8-5

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The Ottawa Senators will be playing the Boston Bruins on Monday, February 20 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Ottawa Senators won against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, February 19 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa with a score of 7-2. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division.

Tim Stutzle had two goals and an assist for the Ottawa Senators.

"We were right in the game from the start, I felt," Stutzle said. "Sogaard was good and kept us in the game, and then we came out and scored a lot of goals, so it was good for the fans, too."

Brady Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat each had a goal and two assists for the Senators (27-24-4), who are 7-1-1 in their past nine games. Mads Sogaard made 30 saves in his third start since being recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Feb. 9.

"Our best players were our best players," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said.

Shane Pinto gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 15:57 of the first period when he finished a centering pass from Drake Batherson on a 2-on-2 rush.

DeBrincat made it 2-0 at 1:51 of the second period, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Stutzle on a power play.

Stutzle extended it to 3-0 at 7:23, taking a lead pass from Tkachuk and finishing a backhand deke top shelf on a breakaway. Stutzle has 10 points (four goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak.

"You guys can see it, his confidence is very high right now," Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said of Stutzle. "He's such a talented player. Anytime he gets the puck, something happens, and I think we've all seen that since he's been here. Obviously, it's [been] taken to another level, but I think he's going to keep that going."

Tkachuk made it 4-0 at 10:07, tipping a point shot from Claude Giroux. Tkachuk has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a career-high six-game point streak.

Batherson pushed it to 5-0 at 12:35 with a one-timer off a cross-slot pass from DeBrincat, and Stutzle made it 6-0 at 7:51 of the third period by scoring five-hole on Greiss on another breakaway.

"I think our group is more mature now that they're letting games go," Smith said of his players rebounding after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. "I think people on the outside made so much noise about losing to Chicago, but any team can beat any team. We're witness to that. … I think our guys just knew we didn't play the right way.

"They turned the page, which is a good sign because if you win a game, you're not going to be too high either. And I think that's where the leadership has gotten a lot better that way."

Ridly Greig scored his first NHL goal at 18:16 for the 7-2 final.

"I'm not much of a celebrator," Greig said of his subdued reaction. "Maybe if it was a 2-2 game, I probably would have done something, but it was a good feeling."

The Ottawa Senators have won seven of their last 10 games.

The Boston Bruins won against the New York Islanders last Saturday, February 18 at TD Garden in Boston, Massuchetts with a score of 6-2. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.

Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist for the Boston Bruins. The forward missed 17 games after he sustained hand and leg injuries at the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 2.

"I've been waiting for this day for a while," DeBrusk said. "I just wanted to get a goal. I just wanted to get [the] first one. It was a great play by 'Marchy' (Brad Marchand) to get that. Even after the goal, it felt a little bit weird to be out there for different times."

Trent Frederic scored twice, Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the Bruins (42-8-5), who have won three in a row. They lead the NHL with 89 points and are an NHL-best 23-2-3 at home.

"Something we talked about, at the start of the year, was being a real hard team at home," Foligno said. "Being a hard place to play, we wanted to get back to that today, so I was really proud of the guys against a heavy team. Everyone plays back to backs in this league, so I don't buy that excuse anymore. We had to play well to play this team. They're a heavy, hard team too, and we got the job done today."

DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the first period on the power play, completing a tic-tac-toe sequence with a backhand shot through Varlamov's five-hole. Foligno made it 2-0 at 9:15 from the left face-off circle, the puck bouncing off Varlamov's pad and in the net. Frederic pushed it to 3-0 at 17:19 by redirecting Charlie McAvoy's one-timer from the point.

"There's a lot of times in the season where you have the advantage, and sometimes you're at the disadvantage," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "I think that first period is how you want to play when you have a team playing on back to backs."

Kyle Palmieri cut it to 3-1 at 6:46 of the second period, bumping in a cross-ice pass from Anders Lee on the doorstep. Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a 4-1 lead at 8:17 by putting in a rebound off the glass behind the net.

"It's one of those things where I'm glad it went in, but then that being said, you kind of move on to the next play," Bergeron said. "We're playing with some great players. It's been a special year in a lot of ways and [I'm] just thankful to be a part of it."

Frederic made it 5-1 at 11:30 with a wrist shot, and Pavel Zacha scored at 18:31 for a 6-1 lead. Matt Martin scored on a rebound from the slot at 13:42 of the third period for the 6-2 final.

The Boston Bruins have won six of their last 10 games.

Prediction

It would be fun to see Ottawa bounce back in Boston, but not seeing that against the best team in the league. Bruins 4, Senators 2

Senators are 1-6 in the last seven meetings in Boston.

Favorite is 14-3 in the last 17 meetings.

Bruins are 41-10 in their last 51 against a team with a losing record.

Senators:

Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stützle -- Claude Giroux

Alex DeBrincat -- Ridly Greig -- Drake Batherson

Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Mathieu Joseph

Parker Kelly -- Dylan Gambrell -- Julien Gauthier

Thomas Chabot -- Nikita Zaitsev

Erik Brannstrom -- Artem Zub

Jacob Larsson -- Travis Hamonic

Kevin Mandolese

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall -- Charlie Coyle -- Craig Smith

Nick Foligno -- Trent Frederic -- A.J. Greer

Matt Grzelcyk -- Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton

Jeremy Swayman