NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Bruins vs Ducks (Sunday, October 22)
Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images. Pictured: Jake DeBrusk.
Bruins vs. Ducks Odds
| Bruins Odds | -250 |
| Ducks Odds | +202 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +114 / -140 |
Not a whole lot is expected of Anaheim this season, so even at home, the Ducks might not measure up against the Bruins. To make matters worse for Anaheim, Boston swept the two-game series last season, which included a 7-1 victory over the Ducks.
Still, it's always tempting to take the underdog, especially when the oddsmakers are offering a substantial potential return, so let's do a deeper dive to see if there's any merit to defying conventional wisdom by selecting Anaheim.
The Bruins lost key members of their core over the summer, most notably with the retirement of centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, but that hasn't significantly impacted them because goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are still around and dominating, allowing just four goals over Boston's first three games. As long as the netminding duo continues to play at a high level, Boston will be one of the toughest teams to beat.
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The Bruins still have David Pastrnak, who provided four goals and five points through three contests, and Brad Marchand, who had a goal and three points over the same span.
One pleasant surprise has been James van Riemsdyk, who scored twice against Nashville and then found the back of the net again versus San Jose. It's a complete 180 compared to 2022-23, where he was limited to 29 points in 61 appearances with Philadelphia. That said, van Riemsdyk averaged just 12:23 over Boston's opening three games while firing just five shots, so his early production might fall off a cliff.
In the long run, Boston might need someone else to step up, and on Sunday that might be Jake DeBrusk. He was a healthy scratch Saturday after missing a team meeting, so he'll likely want to make it up to his teammates. He's also just about the only player on either team rested after the Bruins and Ducks played Friday.
The Ducks had a 6-3 win versus Carolina last Sunday, but they've scored just four goals over their other three contests. Of those 10 goals, Frank Vatrano has provided four of them. Not only is it a problem for the offense to be that one-dimensional, but for it to rely on Vatrano in particular is a recipe for disaster. The 29-year-old has never recorded more than 41 points in a single season and can't be counted on to carry this squad long-term.
He likely won't have to. Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras are all amazing young talents with Terry and Zegras already well established as legitimate top-line forwards. The Ducks also have Leo Carlsson, who was taken with the second overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and scored in his pro debut on Thursday. This isn't the best-equipped team to take on the Bruins' mighty goaltending, but there's enough offensive weapons here to make things interesting.
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Anaheim's real issue is goaltending. Lukas Dostal is off to a fine start with a 2.55 GAA and a .919 save percentage in two contests, but he played on Saturday, so John Gibson will likely be in net in this matchup.
Although Gibson was once counted among the league's best goaltenders early on in his career, in 197 contests over the last five seasons he's posted a 3.31 GAA and a .902 save percentage, including a 3.06 GAA and a .902 save percentage in two outings this campaign.
Finding ways to score against the Bruins is tough enough, but even if Anaheim accomplishes that, there's no guarantee Gibson will hold up his end of the bargain.
Bruins vs. Ducks
Betting Pick & Prediction
FanDuel is offering a +202 potential return if you select Anaheim on the moneyline, and at this point it's pretty obvious why that is. The gap in goaltending is substantial, and while the Ducks have some skilled young forwards, Boston is no slouch offensively.
There's also one other factor worth diving into — both teams are playing on no rest. Would that give Anaheim an edge by virtue of being the younger team? Not really, in part because Boston is the squad with two strong goaltenders. The Bruins were also 11-3-0 on the second half of back-to-backs last season while Anaheim was 1-8-2. So if anything, that's another plus for Boston.
With all that in mind, I recommend taking Boston on the puck line where the spread is 1.5 goals in favor of Anaheim.
Boston puck line (+102, play down to -110)
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