NHL Betting – Scoring Will Come With Time For Struggling Bruins

It is easy to blame the Boston Bruins’ slow sports betting start on the proverbial “Stanley Cup hangover”, but the more reasonable explanation is right there in the statistics. With just 22 goals through 10 games, the Bruins have managed to clinch just three wins, and are just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the worst record in the NHL. A closer look at their results reveals plenty of reason for optimism that the team has the potential to turn things around, as four of their seven losses have come by just a single goal.

While the Bruins will always be a defensive-minded team as long as reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas is between the pipes and captain Zdeno Chara is roaming along the blue line, the team will need to find some offense in order to have the chance to defend their NHL title. While they never logged top-line minutes, veteran Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder were consistent offensive threats that provided depth scoring and help on the powerplay. With Recchi retiring this past summer and Ryder moving on to the Dallas Stars, Boston’s lack of offense has been punctuated by a slow start, although not from a lack of trying. The Bruins rank fifth in the NHL in shots on goal with an average of 33.4 per game, but 25^th in goals per game with an average of just 2.10.

The effort up front will begin with sophomore center Tyler Seguin and veteran Patrice Bergeron, who lead the club in shots through 10 games with 34 each. Seguin has been moved around by head coach Claude Julien in an effort to get one of his top offensive threats to produce, while Bergeron will feel more comfortable in a second line role after filling in up front for David Krejci while the latter was injured. But while Seguin has 10 points in as many games, more will be expected of veterans such as Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, who have combined for just five goals through a combined 20 games despite playing top minutes and having plenty of pay head opportunities. Youngster Bard Marchand and Rich Peverley will be leaned on to provide some depth scoring as they look to break out of their funk, but as in most cases patience might be the best remedy.

One advantage that the Bruins will have over the next two weeks will be the ability to play on home ice, as they play six of their next seven at the TD Garden, beginning against the surprising Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Thomas will be asked to hold down the fort in the interim while the offense gets things together up front, but don’t expect Boston to be at the bottom of the Eastern conference for much longer as the offense breaks out over the next couple of intertops weeks.