The Bruins (32-17-8) have been rolling lately and will take a three-game winning streak to the West Coast as -150 favorites (wager $150 to win $100) on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for a matchup with the struggling Anaheim Ducks (22-26-9) on Friday in the opener of a five-game trip for Boston.
The Bruins have also won five of their past six since losing two in a row after the All-Star break as part of a longer 1-5 skid to close out January.
So far, February has been very good for Boston, starting with a 1-0 victory against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on the same day that the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53. The only blemish for the Bruins this month has been a 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Feb. 6.
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Meanwhile, the Ducks have played poorly overall dating to Dec. 18, winning just three times in 22 games. Anaheim fired head coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday following a brutal 2-19 stretch, replacing him with general manager Bob Murray on an interim basis. The team responded with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday to end a seven-game losing streak behind 35 saves from goaltender Kevin Boyle, who was making his first NHL start.
It remains to be seen if Boyle will be back between the pipes here for the Ducks with All-Star John Gibson moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury but Ryan Miller has recovered from a knee injury. Regardless, Anaheim will need another stellar effort defensively to upset a Boston team averaging 3.8 goals in its past five games, with the OVER going 3-1 in the past four at online betting sites.
The Bruins are coming off their best offensive performance in more than a month, doubling up the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Tuesday to end Chicago's season-best seven-game winning streak. They had seen each of their previous three games go to overtime, winning twice after falling in the shootout at New York.
The Ducks have had a huge edge in this series recently though, winning nine of the past 10 meetings, according to the OddsShark NHL Database. Boston ended a nine-game skid versus Anaheim with a 3-1 win on Dec. 20.
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