If you find that you don’t like certain matchups it’s a good idea to keep your eye out for the lines on the over/unders in the games and target the ones that set the over/under at 5.5 goals. With players becoming more creative, offense is up around the league making this a good time to take advantage of the goal totals betting lines.
Boston Bruins vs Chicago Blackhawks (Over/Under – 5.5 goals @ -120)
The Boston Bruins fire a lot of pucks to the net, averaging 35.1 shots on goal per game this season which is good enough for fifth in the league. The Bruins also enter the game averaging three goals per game, while the Blackhawks have not done a good job keeping the puck out of their net, averaging 3.43 goal allowed this season. Even if Marc-Andre Fleury starts, an efficient Bruins powerplay should be able to breakthrough multiple times against a very poor Chicago defense.
The Blackhawks are playing much better offensively since Jonathan Toews returned to the lineup, making the team deeper than before. Dylan Strome and Patrick Kane are also finding chemistry together on the teams top line with Kane coming of a six-point night in the last game and Strome with a hat-trick of his own.
The Bruins have covered the over of 5.5 goals in four of their last five games, while the Blackhawks have also covered that number in all four of their previous four games. The low goal total required to cash on this bet is why it makes sense in a game that could end up being a back and fourth affair.
Nashville Predators vs Anaheim Ducks (Over/Under – 5.5 goals @ -120)
The Anaheim Ducks have relied largely on outscoring their problems this season and will likely have to do the same against a stingy Nashville Predators blue line. With the two teams in a tough battle for points in the Western Conference and fighting for playoff berths, this game should be high-intensity and high-energy.
The Ducks got blown out by the Chicago Blackhawks in an 8-3 loss in their last game with both goalies seeing action and likely not well rested. The Ducks did not show much push back without much of a response on offense until late in the game and should put fourth a better effort on their attack. With a lot of young creative players in the likes of Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry they have the ability to score their way out of their lack of effort on defense.
The Predators on the other hand have a solid top-six forward group and a strong puck mover on the blue line in Roman Josi with the ability to create opportunities from the backend. They have a total of five players with 40+ points on the season, led by Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene with 27 goals a piece. Both teams rank in the top 10 in in the league in their power play percentage which should translate to lots of goals.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM
