Boston Bruins (38-16-9) vs. New York Islanders (37-20-7)
June 3, 2021 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: New York Islanders +114 / Boston Bruins -126; Over/Under: -5.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders meet Thursday in game three of the NHL East Second Round Playoffs at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Boston Bruins look for a bounce back performance to take a 2-1 series lead. The Boston Bruins are averaging 3.43 goals per game and are scoring on 34.8 percent of their power play opportunities. David Pastrnak leads Boston with five goals, Charlie McAvoy has six assists and David Pastrnak has 40 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 2.29 goals per game and are killing 77.8 percent of their opponents power plays. Tuukka Rask has given up 16 goals on 230 shots faced.
The New York Islanders look for back-to-back wins to take a 2-1 series lead. The New York Islanders are averaging 3.38 goals per game and are scoring on 27.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Anthony Beauvillier leads New York with four goals, Jean-Gabriel Pageau has seven assists and Josh Bailey has 21 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Islanders are allowing three goals per game and are killing 62.5 percent of their opponents power plays. Ilya Sorokin has given up 13 goals on 198 shots faced and Semyon Varlamov has allowed 10 goals on 114 shots.
The Bruins are 5-0 in their last 5 Thursday games and 5-1 in their last 6 overall. The Islanders are 23-8 in their last 31 home games and 4-1 in their last 5 overall. The under is 5-2-1 in Bruins last 8 road games. The under is 4-1-1 in Islanders last 6 Thursday games. The Bruins are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in New York. The Bruins are 35-17 in the last 52 meetings. The favorite is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
The Boston Bruins have arguably been the best team in the playoffs so it’s no surprise they’re favored. However, the Islanders got a shot in the arm in a game two overtime win and have now won six of the last 10 meetings against the Bruins. The Islanders have also played their best hockey at home all year. I’ve also been on the Islanders a ton dating back to last year. When you play defense and have great coaching, you can go far in the postseason. We’re getting plus money with the home team. I’ll take it.
