Game 8: Boston Bruins vs. Red Wings Lines, Preview, Betting

The Boston Bruins (4-3-0, 8 pts) welcome the Detroit Red Wings (4-4-2, 10 pts) to TD Garden Thursday night for the first of four meetings this season between the Atlantic Division foes. Puck drop is at 7:05 PM ET (NESN, BSDET, SN360).

The Bruins come into this divisional tilt after handing another divisional opponent, the Florida Panthers, their first loss of the season with a 3-2 shootout win last Saturday. The Red Wings come in having lost their last two games and playing the third game of a four-game road trip.

Betting Line, Picks, Prediction: 

The Boston Bruins are surprisingly -280 favorites over the pesky Red Wings who actually lead the Bruins by two points in the standings. You can play them on the puck line (-1.5) at -120 for better value. The over/under is 5.5 (-115) and that’s where we think your best value is if you take the under.

Prediction: Red Wings 2 Bruins 1

Boston Bruins Notes

-Boston Bruins rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman will be back between the pipes for the first time since allowing two goals on 23 shots in a 3-0 Bruins loss to the Carolina Hurricanes a week ago. Swayman is going through the first slump of his young career coming into tonight’s tilt with the Wings at 1-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and a .893 save percentage.

– The Boston Bruins are hoping a powerplay goal that tied the game en route to that 3-2 shootout win Saturday will jumpstart the man advantage. The Bruins enter this game with the 23rd ranked powerplay and are scoring at a 15.8 percent (3-for-19) success rate.

-The Perfection Line of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak has been far from perfect this season and as my partner-in-scribe Joe Haggerty wrote on Thursday morning, the Boston Bruins need them to get going.

-Boston Bruins winger Nick Foligno (upper-body), won’t play Thursday night but he’s expected to start practicing with the team again on Friday.

Detroit Red Wings Notes

– The Detroit Red Wings will have the NHL’s lone unvaccinated player, Tyler Bertuzzi, back in the lineup tonight after he once again let his team down by refusing to get the shot and therefore being unable to play in a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Bertuzzi is not allowed to play in Canada until he gets vaccinated. Bertuzzi leads the team in goals with six lamplighters and in points with nine.

– Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin – who is tied for the team lead in assists (5) with rookie Lucas Raymond, remains out of the lineup for personal reasons.

-Alex Nedljkovic is expected to get the nod between the pipes for the Winged Wheels. He’s 1-2-2 with a 3.06 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

Boston Bruins Lines

Forwards:

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall – Charlie Coyle – Craig Smith

Jake DeBrusk – Erik Haula – Curtis Lazar

Trent Frederic – Tomáš Nosek – Karson Kuhlman

Defense:

Derek Forbort – Charlie McAvoy

Matt Grzelcyk – Brandon Carlo

Mike Reilly – John Moore

Goalies:

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark