Bruins Look To Even Series at Bell Centre

Wagering: 1.888.238.8018 - 1.888.889.4313
Customer Service: 1.877.717.7747 - 1.888.889.4368

: 1.888.238.8198 - 1.888.889.4312
: 1.888.378.0888 - 1.888.889.4219

Bruins Look To Even Series at Bell Centre

The Boston Bruins fell into a 2-0 hole in the opening games of their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens as they couldn’t solve Habs’ goaltender Carey Price. They finally got some pucks behind Price in Game 3, and as a result are back in the series following a 4-2 victory on Montreal’s home ice. They’ll look to draw even with the Canadiens as they contest Game 4 back at the Bell Centre on Thursday night.

In some ways, Boston’s ‘bounce back’ performance in Game 3 wasn’t a surprise as they’ve actually been a better team on the road than at home for the past few years. The Bruins improved to 25-18 +6 units on the road with their Game 3 victory, and with their solid play away from the TD BankNorth Garden they’ll enter Thursday night’s contest with plenty of confidence. In addition to finally getting an early goal on Price, the Bruins for the first time in the series outworked Montreal on both ends of the ice.

For the Canadiens, the blueprint for getting back in the win column isn’t rocket science—they’ll need a better game from Price but after his exceptional play in the opening two games of the series we expect him to bounce back strong. More importantly, they need to get back to doing the ‘little things’ that gave them the edge in the games in Boston. The Habs were energetic and aggressive on both ends of the ice, forechecking and clogging the slot on offense and contesting everything on the defensive end not allowing a clear shot on their goaltender. In Game 3 Montreal simply didn’t play with the same sense of urgency as Boston and that will have to change if they’re looking to get back in the win column.

We think they’ll do just that and since the ‘public’ has been all over the Bruins throughout this series we’ll likely get Montreal once again as a short priced home underdog. They’ve been at their best in defensive games on their home ice, with a 12-7 record this year in home games with a total of 5 or less. As we noted above, the Habs don’t need any major changes to get a victory in Game 4—they just need to display the same tenacity and work ethic that gave them two victories on the Bruins home ice to start the series. We look for a Montreal win that will send the teams back to Boston with the Bruins on the brink of elimination.