Bruins Take on Penguins in Emotional Game This Afternoon

The Boston Bruins are -141 favorites in a match against the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon, though that hardly tells the story of this game. These two teams were originally scheduled to meet on Friday, but the game was postponed due to the massive manhunt for one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. The Bruins were the first Boston team to play after the tragedy, an unfortunate 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Still, their experience in being able to rally Boston was a positive one.

“It was still positive in the way that we had an event and we had cheering and we had people out and about, having a good time,” defenseman Andrew Ference said after the Buffalo game. “To get a win, we wanted it so bad. I think you still take the good from the night.”

“You’re around thousands of people you don’t know, but it’s like we’re all one,” said Bruins center Brad Marchand. “It was special there tonight and very emotional.”

It will doubtlessly be another emotional game this afternoon, a home game against the Penguins. The Pens have won five straight matches, but the overwhelming tide of support for the Bruins at home may singlehandedly propel them to victory. It was an intense and painful week from Boston, one that everyone in the country was anxiously watching.

“Clearly we were all watching for days and being here yesterday and being in the hotel, being inside certainly became a part of the situation and part of what the city of Boston was going through,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “I think although we weren’t a part of it, the celebration outside as a city and as a people last night, and just feel like it’s a great opportunity to play a game today with the city of Boston and not just against the Bruins but with the city and with the Bruins.”

“It’s like the other night [Wednesday] where you get back to some normalcy, but today everybody’s still remembering the people that were hurt but it’ll be a little less heavy feeling with the fact that so many people got to witness live heroism last night,” the Bruins’ Ference said today. “I think everybody was pretty proud of the authorities, so I expect it to not be as heavy but a little more celebratory.”

Here are some of the other betting trends for both teams heading into this afternoon’s match, courtesy of the invaluable OddsShark.com:

Pittsburgh Penguins Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 7-3
Before playing Ottawa are 5-5
After playing Montreal are 8-2
After a win are 9-1

Boston Bruins Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-5
Before playing Ottawa are 5-5
After playing Buffalo are 7-3
After a loss are 6-4

A few Penguins at Bruins trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston’s last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston’s last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
Boston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
Boston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games