NHL Pick – NBC Game of the Week
The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals will close out their 2009-2010 regular season schedules with a matinee affair in Washington on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins are likely safe to advance to the post season but will be looking for a win in order to improve their standing and to ultimately avoid the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.
Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals
12:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 11, 2010
Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia
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- The Washington Capitals rank 1st on offense, and average 3.8 goals per game. The Capitals are 25.4% on the power play and have 79 power play goals.
- The Boston Bruins rank 30th on offense, and average 2.4 goals per game. The Bruins are 16.7% on the power play and have 43 power play goals.
- The Capitals average 3.8 goals per game at home, and give up 2.6 goals against on defense.
- The Bruins average 2.4 goals per game on the road, and give up 2.3 goals against on defense.
Boston Bruins: lines not available yet
The Boston Bruins have somehow survived marginal play and will likely advance to the post season. The question that now remains is who they will face. A loss on Sunday will likely mean that their opponent will be the Washington Capitals, an unenviable task for any NHL club while a win would mean that the Buffalo Sabres whom the Bruins hold a 4-2 record against this season will be their opponent.
The Bruins have not been all that successful against the Caps this season, posting a 0-2-1 record, but the good news is that Washington might opt to rest a few players in favour of rest before the playoffs start on Tuesday. The Bruins have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have earned their inevitable post season berth.
The Boston Bruins play tonight against Carolina and a win would mean that they qualify for the playoffs. If a win comes, goaltender Tukka Rask and his league leading goals against average will probably sit out Sunday’s game. The rest of the Bruins roster should be good to go and be looking to build on the recent good play of Miroslav Satan, David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron. They will also have to get their struggling players Michael Ryder (pointless in 7 games and Marco Sturm (pointless in 6) going. Expect the Bruins to treat this game like a playoff game, come out hard and make life miserable for the Caps.
Washington Capitals: lines not available yet
The story for the Capitals in this game is more about how much rest the regulars will see rather than how hard they play to gain a win. With nothing to play for, the Caps, outside of Alex Ovechkin, who is chasing an NHL scoring title, might rest the bulk of their regulars.
Nick Backstrom, Alex Semin, Mike Green and the rest of the Capitals supporting cast have been hot lately and really have no reason to play very much in this game. Momentum isn’t an issue for Washington and a win means absolutely nothing. After all, they have already reached the 120 point plateau on the season.
Sunday’s game, unfortunately is meaningful to only one team. The Boston Bruins should be motivated in this game and should finally defeat a Washington team that will clearly be short-handed. Rest prevails for the Caps and the Bruins prevail in the game.
Pick: Boston Bruins
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