New York Islanders (36-19-7) vs. Boston Bruins (37-16-8)
May 29, 2021 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Boston Bruins -155 / New York Islanders +140; Over/Under: 5
(Get latest betting odds)
The New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins meet in game one of their second round series in NHL action from the TD Garden on Saturday night.
The New York Islanders will look to build on their series win over the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins after their victory last time out. Anthony Beauvillier and J-G Pageau each have a team-high 7 points with a team-high 3 goals with 4 assists while Pageau has a team-high 6 assists. Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey each have 6 points with 3 goals and 3 assists as well. Scott Mayfield’s got 4 points with a goal and 3 assists and Kyle Palmieri has 3 goals as well for the Islanders this postseason. Ilya Sorokin’s had the success for the Islanders between the pipes in this year’s playoffs, going 4-0 with a .943 save percentage and a 1.95 GAA while Semyon Warlamov’s gone 0-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 3.61 GAA this postseason.
The Boston Bruins come into this one rested after making quick work of the Washington Capitals, beating Alex Ovechkin and co. in five games. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 6 points including a pair of goals and 4 assists while Charlie McAvoy has a team-high 5 assists. Patrice Bergeron has 4 points with 3 goals and an assist, sharing the team lead in goals this playoff with Brad Marchand who also has 3 goals. Tuukka Rask has taken over goaltending duties for the Bruins, going 4-1 in the five game set with a .941 save percentage and a 1.81 GAA this year.
New York is 17-8 in their last 25 games following a win and 4-1 in their last 5 Saturday games while the under is 8-3-2 in their last 13 games following a win. Boston is 10-1 in their last 11 games as a home favorite and 11-4 in their last 15 games following a win while the under is 4-1-1 in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite. The under is 11-4-4 in the last 19 meetings between these two teams and 6-1-2 in the last 9 meetings between these two teams in Boston.
This game one is going to be interesting as either team can take any game in this series as obvious as that may sound. But a sweep for either team wouldn’t surprise me honestly. With that said, in game one, I’m expecting a game that epitomizes playoff hockey. Low-scoring, physical and a lot of good defense. Give me the under here.
