Game 73: Boston Bruins Vs St. Louis Blues Lines, Betting Preview

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Boston Bruins Game Day Preview:

Boston Bruins (45-22-5, 95 pts) vs St. Louis Blues (42-20-10, 94 pts)

TIME: 7:00 PM ET

TV: NESN, BSMWX, TVAS, SNP

The Boston Bruins will begin a three-game homestand Tuesday night when they host old friend Torey Krug and the St. Louis Blues.

If the Bruins can beat the St. Louis Blues tonight in any fashion and the Pittsburgh Penguins do the same to the New York Islanders then the Bruins punch their ticket to the dance. The Boston Bruins will also clinch a playoff spot if they get at least a point against the Blues and the Penguins beat the Islanders in regulation.

Captain and 18-season veteran Patrice Bergeron can help lead the @NHLBruins to a playoff berth for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons tonight. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/QHkDU74Ptd

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 12, 2022

The Bruins return to TD Garden after going 2-2-0 on their recent four-game road trip. The Bruins are 7-3-0 in their last ten games.

The St. Louis Blues come into tonight’s game riding a five-game win streak and are 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

Jeremy Swayman will be back between the pipes for the Boston Bruins after Linus Ullmark started the last two games. Swayman had a rough outing in his last start, allowing four goals on 28 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings a week ago. Swayman comes into this game with a record of 20-10-3 with a 2.28 GAA and .918 save percentage.

Ville Husso is expected to start for the Blues. Husso is 22-6-5 with a 2.38 GAA and .924 save percentage.

Betting: The Boston Bruins are -130 on the MONEY LINE and +180 on the PUCK LINE. The OVER/UNDER is 6 and you can bet the over at -115 and the under at -105. The Blues are on fire right now and the Bruins are pretty banged up. Combine that with the fact that teams tend to be flat when they return from a road trip and the Blues +110 underdogs are the play here. I’m also liking the Under 6.

Prediction: Blues 3 Bruins 1

Boston Bruins Notes

-Charlie McAvoy leads all Bruins defensemen with 52 points and carries an eight-game point streak into tonight’s tilt with the Blues. He has 12 assists during the streak.

-The Boston Bruins will once again be without winger David Pastrnak as he continues to recover from an undisclosed injury.

-The Bruins will also still be missing defensemen Hampus Lindholm (lower-body) and now Matt Grzelcyk (lower-body) as well. Grzelcyk left in the first period of the Bruins’ 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals Sunday and did not skate Tuesday morning prior to or during the game-day skate. Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Jack Ahcan was recalled from the Providence Bruins and skated with the team as an extra defenseman at the game day skate.

St. Louis Blues Notes

-Former Boston bruins defenseman Torey Krug (hand) is a game-time decision but likely to play his first game in Boston since signing a seven-year contract worth $45.5 million back on Oct. 9 2020.

Berube on Krug’s availability tonight: “Yeah, there’s a good chance. We’ll see at game time, though. I don’t want to say he is and (then) … We’ll see how he is at game time.” #stlblues

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 12, 2022

-Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team in goals with 26 lamplighters and points with 65.

-Robert Thomas leads the team in assists with 47 helpers.

Boston Bruins Lineup:

Forwards

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron– Jake DeBrusk

Taylor Hall – Erik Haula – Marc McLaughlin

Trent Frederic – Charlie Coyle – Craig Smith

Nick Foligno – Tomas Nosek – Curtis Lazar

Defense:

Derek Forbort – Charlie McAvoy

Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo

Connor Clifton – Josh Brown

Goalies:

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark 

St. Louis Blues  Lineup:

Forwards:

Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Vladimir Tarasenko

Brandon Saad – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron

Ivan Barbashev – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou

Alexei Toropchenko – Logan Brown – Nathan Walker

Defensemen:

Marco Scandella – Colton Parayko

Nick Leddy/Torey Krug – Justin Faulk

Calle Rosen – Robert Bertuzzo

Goalies

Ville Husso

Jordan Binnington