Golden Knights vs Bruins January 20 Prediction: Boston 9-3-3 Against Western Conference Teams

• The Boston Bruins (28-10-12) host the Vegas Golden Knights (25-19-7) Tuesday night
• Goalie Tuukka Rask is on the IR (concussion) but his back up Jaroslav Halak is the best in the league
• Vegas is still getting used to new head coach Peter DeBoer who took over last week

The Boston Bruins have a 9-3-3 record against Western Conference teams this season and they welcome a Western foe tonight with the Vegas Golden Knights visiting TD Garden.

Golden Knights vs Bruins Odds

Odds taken Jan. 20t

The Golden Knights vs Bruins odds show this is expected to be a tight game. I’m more confident than the oddsmakers that the Bruins will win this game. They are narrow favorites but I really like their chances to get the two points on home ice because of two players in particular.

Wicked good practice on Comm Ave. today ?#VegasBorn | @AAA_NCNU pic.twitter.com/SpXNyJeoJV

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 20, 2020

The NHL’s Best Backup Jaroslav Halak

Tuukka Rask has been placed on the IR with a concussion so it’s Jaroslav Halak’s crease for the time being and that’s something the Bruins are more than okay with. He’s 11-6-6 this season with a 2.49 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. Those aren’t numbers you normally see out of a backup goaltender. His goals-against ranks 12th and save percentage is 14th, the fact is he’s closer to elite than many of the starters in the NHL.

.@ToreyKrug on tomorrow's game with Vegas, the final contest before the B's nine-day break: "You’re only as good as the last game you played. We want to be going into the break with a good taste in our mouth." pic.twitter.com/QYv9gZuHCx

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 20, 2020

Halak has played 23 of the Bruins 50 games making his split with Rask closer to a timeshare than a starter/backup situation. His three shutouts are tied for second-best in the league and I’d expect him to help close the door on Vegas, especially with the game being on home ice.

The NHL’s Best Goal Scorer David Pastrnak

David Pastrnak leads the league with 37 goals and is tied for third with 70 points. He’s emerged as a truly spectacular goal scorer and will almost certainly factor into this game. 22 of his 37 goals have come on home ice, so Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights will find it difficult to keep him off the score sheet in this one.

Absolutely absurd no-look pass by David Pastrnak to set up Patrice Bergeron’s snipe pic.twitter.com/pjgzJMESva

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 17, 2020

Since the calendar flipped to 2020 Pastrnak has been especially successful. He has eight goals in nine games played while averaging 1.22 points per game. His success has come from a penchant to shoot the puck whenever he gets to the dangerous area of the ice. He has four or more shots in five of the nine games Boston has played in January. If he’s shooting at that high of a rate against Vegas, I expect him to tally at least one point and maybe more.

Consider the Bruins on the Puck Line

The Bruins are paying +165 on the puckline and I think they absolutely have a chance to win this game by more than a goal. The Golden Knights are only 8-8-4 against Eastern Conference teams and they are still adjusting to a new head coach after firing Gerard Gallant last week. Despite a 4-2 win over the Senators in DeBoer’s first game, the Knights followed that up with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Canadiens on Saturday. Vegas has now won just once in their past six games.

Decide how aggressive you want to be but my suggestion is to wager on the B’s.

Pick: Bruins -1.5 (+165)