Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Every day, Last Word on Hockey provides insights and analysis to predict the outcome of the games on the NHL schedule. Today, we will examine the matchup between the Nashville Predators and the Boston Bruins. Be sure to check out all of our NHL Predictions as the 2024-25 season moves along.
NHL Predictions and the Nashville Predators vs Boston Bruins
Head-to-Head: Predators 1-0 Bruins
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: NESN; SN360; ESPN+
The Bruins (28-26-8) play host to the Predators (21-32-7) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Tuesday night’s game will be the second and final meeting between these two underperforming clubs, with Nashville leading the season series 1-0. The Preds shutout the Bruins in their meeting on October 22nd, winning 4-0. Boston is playing for its season while Nashville plays for their dignity.
Predators Need Stamkos to Get Going
It seems safe to say that Nashville’s historic offseason has not translated into regular seasons success as they had hoped. On July 1st, 2024, Predators general manager Barry Trotz made waves across the hockey world. He signed two Stanley Cup champions in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as veteran defenceman Brady Skjei. These three moves have not gone well whatsoever as Nashville has been the NHL’s biggest disappointment. They have been staying at the bottom of the league standings since the season began.
Although it was a harsh and shocking decision by Tampa Bay, letting their former captain walk, it has turned out to be the right call. ‘Stammer‘ has had the worst season of his career in his first year away from the Lightning. In 60 games played, Stamkos has 17 goals and 16 assists for just 33 points. The 35-year-old is currently going through, by far, the worst stretch of his career. He has unfortunately gone pointless in 13 straight contests. Bottom line, Stamkos needs to find a way to get on the scoresheet in Boston if he wants to gain his confidence back and end the season strong.
Juuse Saros is expected to start in goal for the Preds as he searches for his 14th win of the season. Saros hasn’t been his best this season but he is not to blame for the struggles in Smashville. The Finnish native has a record of 13-25-6 while posting a 2.95 GAA and an .898 SV%. The Predators defence, led by captain Roman Josi need to focus on controlling David Pastrnak. If they can shutdown the Bruins’ leading scorer they have a good chance of winning as every other Bruin has struggled to find twine.
Have Someone Not Named David Scored a Goal
The Boston Bruins have played five games since returning from the 4 Nations break. In those five games they’re 1-2-2, while scoring a combined 11 goals. David Pastrnak has been on the ice for every goal scored aside from Charlie Coyle’s empty-net tally in their lone victory over the Penguins. This is not a winning formula for a team with playoff aspirations. The B’s need to figure it out in the offensive end as it is very hard to win in this league with just one player performing.
With their captain, Brad Marchand’s status up in the air, there are a handful of Bruins who must step up immediately in order to keep their season alive. Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle are three players who need to provide offence now more than ever. Zacha’s playmaking abilities have been evident as of thanks to playing with Pasta, but he hasn’t scored in eight games. Lindholm has been an unfortunate disappointment in his first year as a Bruin with just 31 points, including 11 goals. Coyle has had arguably his worst season representing the black and gold after coming off a season where he scored 25 goals and 60 points. The Bruins playoff chances continue to evaporate with every loss, so they need these three players to start putting the puck in the net, starting in their meeting with the Preds.
Continue Strong Defensive Play
Although their offensive play has been abysmal, the Bruins d-core has stepped up immensely in the absence of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. With Brandon Carlo and Nikita Zadorov leading the way, Boston has only allowed four goals in their last three games. The player who has stepped up the most has been 24-year-old, Mason Lohrei. In the five games since the break ended, Lohrei has one goal and four assists. The young defender has been one of the only Bruins to generate any sort of offence. Jeremy Swayman is expected to start in goal for the B’s as he looks to build off of his strong performance in Minnesota on Sunday. If the Bruins continue to struggle to find offence, Swayman and the d-core will need to do what they can in order to take two points from the Predators.
NHL Predictions Preds and Bruins
The Predators season has been over for months, so they don’t have much to play for besides building chemistry for next season. The Bruins have everything to play for as another loss could be the final straw for this squad. Boston must take advantage of the lowly Preds and use this game as a chance to get back on track. The Bruins strong defensive play could be too much for the struggling Predators.
Prediction: Bruins win 3-2
Prop Bets of The Night
We will end this edition of NHL Predictions with some prop bets for this game. Pastrnak’s 17-game point streak came to an unfortunate end in Minnesota. Expect the superstar to start a new one early in this one. He is listed at +420 as an anytime goal scorer in the 1st period. As for the Preds, their only semi-consistent player has been Filip Forsberg who is a +155 to find the back of the net. The Bruins are -138 favourites at home.
Main Photo Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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