Tuesday night means hockey night! As usual, we’ve got a featured slate of games throughout the evening with the first contests dropping the puck at 7 p.m. EST. At that time, the Boston Bruins host the Utah Mammoth at TD Garden as these sides fight to emerge from the middle of their respective division standings.
Here’s a Mammoth vs. Bruins prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday night’s game.
Mammoth vs. Bruins prediction, preview
Over the weekend, the Mammoth finally broke a three-game losing streak with a couple of wins over the Kraken and Penguins. While the former isn’t that impressive of a feat, the latter came via a third-period rally and subsequent overtime despite trailing 3-0 heading into the final frame of regulation. It was quite the spark for a roster that sits at the midpoint of the Western Conference’s Central Division with 35 points following a rough stretch over the last week or so. Utah sits 13th in scoring with 3.12 GF/GP and 14th in goals allowed with 2.97 GA/GP, and the +5 mark in the +/- column remains sixth-best in the conference.
An array of scorers at the top of the lineup stand out, headlined by Nick Schmaltz’s 30 points along with 27 for Dylan Guenther and 28 for Clayton Keller, though the latter is in the midst of a tough patch with four games without a point over his last five contests. JJ Peterka also has 25 points in his first 29 games with the franchise, but it’s clear that Logan Cooley is missed after landing on injured reserve last Friday. Still, there are some notable talents at the top of the roster who can help weather his absence. The blue line also allows the third-fewest shots at 25.1 per game, and the Mammoth’s penalty kill ranks seventh at 83.9%. The biggest weaknesses? An inconsistent goalie tandem and a penalty kill that’s sixth-worst in the league with a PP% of 15.6%.
Looking at the home team, the Bruins rattled off four straight wins prior to Sunday’s loss at the hands of the Wild in Quinn Hughes’ Minnesota debut. Despite the momentary bump in the road, the good news is that Boston remains firmly in the postseason hunt in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division with 38 points. The best news, though, is that David Pastrnak returned three games ago and notched a combined seven points across his first two contests back in the lineup. He remains the team leader with 36 points, but Morgan Geekie sits hot on his tail with 35 points himself. Beyond the stars, Pavel Zacha (22 P) and Eliad Lindholm (20 P) are the only other Boston Skaters with 20+ points.
With 3.24 GF/GP, the Bruins are eighth in scoring on a per-game basis with an impressive power play hitting at a 25.5% rate, sixth-best in the NHL. This is a formidable offensive unit, though the blue line could use some work. Boston allows 3.18 GA/GP, which falls 20th, though the 81.0% PK% still sits in the league’s top half. With solid goaltending from Jeremy Swayman as well, this team could certainly compete for their division lead with a couple of defensive improvements around the deadline.
Mammoth vs. Bruins pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists this contest as a near toss-up. The Mammoth are favored slightly at -115 odds on the Moneyline, just a smidge ahead of the Bruins at -105. However, the public is on Boston with 70% of straight bets in the home team’s favor, while just 51% of wagers are targeting over the total of 6.5 goals.
While Utah does have a little bit more talent on the upper end of the scale than Boston does at the top, the Bruins have the two best players in the game at their disposal. Pastrnak has been incredible in two of three games since his return from injury and Geekie’s incredible stretch of goalscoring continues on what feels like a nightly basis. With that star duo on the first line, it’s tough to bet against the Bruins’ offensive attack, even against a quality defense. They’ll look to put constant pressure on Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka, who sees a slight edge in GAA compared to Swayman (2.78 to 2.83) but lags behind in SV% (.893 to .908).
Sure, it’s easier to trust the Mammoth defense, but they’ll be challenged against this Bruins attack. With Boston 11-5-0 at home and Utah 8-10-2 on the road, I like the home team to win this one at their own barn.
