VANCOUVER vs BOSTON NHL Odds, Pick & Preview

The VANCOUVER and the BOSTON will both be gunning for a victory on 11/8/2018 at 7:05 PM when they meet in a game matchup.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs BOSTON BRUINS
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Thursday, November 8, 2018
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TV: 7:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: BOSTON , VANCOUVER

Oddsmakers currently have the VANCOUVER listed as 205-moneyline favorites versus the BOSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The Boston Bruins remain, for the most part, a one-line team and that’s something that coach Bruce Cassidy expects to change when his club continues a four-game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Boston ended a two-game slide with a 2-1 overtime win over Dallas on Monday night but has produced only five goals in the past four games.

David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand each scored on the power play Monday, giving Boston’s No. 1 unit 22 of the team’s 37 goals, but Cassidy saw signs of offense coming from other lines. “Three posts, a goal we scored that … got waved off,” noted Cassidy. “It’s coming. That’s the way I look at it and usually it takes a game or two before the floodgates open.” The Canucks opened their six-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout loss at Detroit after squandering a two-goal lead but they extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1). Vancouver edged the visiting Bruins 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 20 despite the absence of rookie sensation Elias Pettersson, who has made history in his first season.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), NESN (Boston)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (9-6-1): Pettersson sat out the first matchup due to a concussion that sidelined him for six contests, but he scored against Detroit to become the fifth player in league history to notch 10 goals in his first 10 career games. The 2017 No. 5 overall pick had a five-point game in Friday’s 7-6 win over Colorado to give him 16 points — most among league rookies. “There’s some guys that you can tell are wired for success, and I feel like he is,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “He talks like he is, and he’s been very humble still and not getting too far ahead of himself.”

ABOUT THE BRUINS (8-4-2): Tuukka Rask allowed four goals in his last three starts after a rocky beginning to the season, but he understands why Cassidy is giving the nod to backup netminder Jaroslav Halak against Vancouver. Halak has earned the confidence of the team by posting league-leading marks in goals-against average (1.45) and save percentage (.952). “The schedule hasn’t been crazy and Jaro has played unbelievable, that’s how it goes,” Rask said. “If you’re a hot goalie like that then you’ve got to let him play, I totally get it, it hasn’t affected me mentally really that much.”

OVERTIME

1. Pastrnak had an NHL-best 12 goals in 14 games through Tuesday’s action.

2. Canucks F Brock Boeser missed Tuesday’s game due to a groin injury and is day-to-day.

3. Boston ranks fifth in the league on the power play, converting 13 of 44 chances (29.5 percent).

PREDICTION: Bruins 4, Canucks 2

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