NHL Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Hurricanes vs. Bruins Game 2 Preview (Thursday, August 13)

Game 2: Hurricanes vs. Bruins Odds

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After going 0-3 in the round robin there were some skeptics out there wondering if the Boston Bruins were going to be able to find their pre-hiatus form in time to make another run at the Stanley Cup.

A close, yet comprehensive win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of their best-of-7 should quiet some of the doubters.

It certainly wasn't easy — the Bruins needed two overtimes to get the win — but Boston looked like its old self, holding a relentless Hurricanes team to just 1.91 expected goals at 5-on-5 and 2.35 xG in all situations. Boston took 55% of the shot attempts, created 56.5% of the high-danger chances and outscored Carolina, 4-2, at 5-on-5.

The Bruins got the job done in their customary fashion. They were tough to break down on defense, holding the Hurricanes to just 28 shots in four-plus periods, and got big goals from David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, aka "The Perfection Line."

It was good to see this type of performance as a Bruins bettor because I thought the market was too low on Boston following its ohfer in the seeding round. Couple that with Carolina's dominant sweep over the Rangers in the Qualifying Round and you can see how the Bruins were going to be a tad overlooked by bettors in the opener.

It's tempting to get caught up in recent results, and form does matter at some point, but it would be a bit ludicrous to weigh Boston's three-game schlep more than its 70-game dominance in the regular season.

Boston closed at -140 for Game 1 and is hanging out in that range again for Game 2. I am closer to a bet on the B's than I am on Carolina at this point and would be in on the Bruins if the line gets down to -135.

That said, I'd be surprised if Boston's price comes down before puck drop. The Bruins were clicking in Game 1 and I'm sure that bettors have forgiven them for their three-game losing streak last week.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Boston close in the -150 range and, at that point, I'd start thinking about Carolina. The Hurricanes are such a good team that they're always a bit tempting as an underdog but I'd need a bigger price than what I'm seeing to try and beat Boston. I'd have a bet on Carolina at +135, but wouldn't blame anybody for backing the Canes in the +130 range since they closed at +120 on Wednesday.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if Boston does put together another strong showing we could see the price on Carolina balloon.

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