Welcome to a Saturday Night edition of NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey take a look at the games, breaking down the key matchups and providing relevant analysis to how they might play out. Today we feature the Ottawa Senators, as they travel to Massachusetts and the TD Garden to take on their Atlantic Division foes, the Boston Bruins. Don’t forget to check out all the action, as our writers continue our NHL predictions throughout the 2024-25 season.
NHL Predictions
Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins, from TD Garden
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: Citytv, NHL Network
Regular Season Record Ottawa was 1-1-1 in 2023-24 vs Boston
Ottawa Senators Go With Linus Ullmark to Play Former Tandem-mate Jeremy Swayman
With both teams searching for answers, we will start by looking at the Senators. And what better place to start, than their starting goaltender, Linus Ullmark. First, we must add, please check for the very latest lineup news before locking in your fantasy starting lineups. Back to Ullmark, and he has been, ah, underwhelming, to say the least. Hey, just try asking any old Sens fan. Ullmark comes in 2-4-0 with a 3.02 goal-against average and an .892 save percentage. He will be looking to put in a worthy performance against his former team.
For the Senators, the defensive pairing of Nick Jensen and Thomas Chabot has been very good. Jensen has six points, while Chabot has seven on the season so far. Considering the power play opportunity (or lack of) for the pair, those points values are more than acceptable, going above and beyond, you might say.
Ottawa comes into this one needing a victory to keep the dressing room atmosphere positive. David Perron and Shane Pinto are near a return, Artem Zub just came back, the Sens just need a victory on the ice. They need both their top-line players and their role players contributing, and then, then, they can be successful.
The Boston Bruins Are Fighting to Right the Ship
It is hard to put your finger on the button for head coach Jim Montgomery and crew. It is unusual to see the Bruins at 7-7-1 or with a winning percentage of .500. Moreover, we won’t see a reunion of Joonas Korpisalo and his former team. For this one, Jeremy Swayman is expected to start. That means linking up of the former tandem-mates from Boston the last few seasons. However, Swayman has not been up to his normal standards thus far in 2024-25.
Swayman comes into this game with a .894 SV%. His career mark is an incredible .917 SV%. So, you’d think it is just something he has to get going. Recall that his preparation for the season had a wrinkle in it because he signed so late. Regardless, the team and he are looking to get it going. Furthermore, what better place to do that than against the Ottawa Senators?
Another player who sees this as a reunion is Mark Kastelic. Kastelic has seven points in 12:14 of average ice time. Therefore, he has started is Bruin career with a bang. Oh yeah, he’s also picked up a couple fighting majors already. Look for him to set the tone against the Sens, but hopefully there’s no love lost between these former friends.
NHL Predictions: Bruins and Senators
The tail of the team stats shows a distinct advantage to the Ottawa Senators. One reason is that the Bruins have been very bad. Their penalty kill is only 22nd with a 75.8%. However, their power play, goals for, and goals against are all ranked below that standing. Ottawa, however, is fourth on the power play at 31% and at 3.46 goals-for, per game they are tenth. With a struggling Swayman between the pipes, there are some reasons to think Ottawa can find a way to get just their second road victory of the season.
Prediction: Ottawa win in regulation, 4-2.
According to Fanduel, if we want to look at adding some friendly wagers on the outcomes, check these out. We like Ottawa on the moneyline paying +128. For goal scorers, Pavel Zacha for the Bruins is +320, that’s very good. For Ottawa, we like Drake Batherson contributing in a big Sen game, he’s +250 as an anytime scorer.
Main Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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