Utah Mammoth vs Boston Bruins Expert Picks
My Mammoth vs Bruins prediction is a Utah win on Thursday, with Nick Schmaltz scoring again to keep the Mammoth rolling.
The Utah Mammoth visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden at 7 p.m. ET, and they arrive 3-1 with a +9 goal difference. Boston have dropped two straight and scored just once in each of those games.
I'm backing Utah because their special teams are miles ahead. The Mammoth power play has scored on 8 of 13 chances, while the Bruins are 0 for 10 with the man advantage and killing just 72.7% of penalties.
I'm also taking Schmaltz to score. He has found the net in all four games, with five goals on 17 shots, and he's getting 3:30 of power-play time a night on that red-hot unit.
For more player bets across tonight's slate, check out my best NHL props before puck drop.
Key Stats and Trends
- Utah are outshooting opponents 31.0 to 22.2 per game.
- Boston have been outshot 111-99 and managed just 19 shots in their last game.
- The Mammoth have scored first in three of their four games.
- Boston's last two games were both 4-1 defeats.
Mammoth Form
Utah opened with a 6-0 rout of Chicago and a 4-1 win in Columbus, lost 4-2 to the Rangers, then bounced back with a 5-3 win in New Jersey on Tuesday. Their goalies have a .920 save percentage, with Karel Vejmelka making 30 saves against the Devils.
Schmaltz and Clayton Keller lead the team with 7 points each, and Keller has six assists. Dylan Guenther has 6 points and matches Schmaltz with 17 shots.
Defenceman Mikhail Sergachev is day-to-day after taking a puck to the back of the helmet in New Jersey on Tuesday, and he has six points so far.
Bruins Form
Boston started 2-0 with a 3-0 shutout of the Rangers and a 4-3 overtime win in Winnipeg. Since then they've lost 4-1 in Minnesota and 4-1 at home to Ottawa, with Jeremy Swayman holding a .914 save percentage across his three starts.
JJ Peterka and James Hagens have two goals each. David Pastrnak is still looking for his first goal despite a team-high 15 shots.
Charlie McAvoy is still
serving his six-game suspension
from last spring's playoffs, so the Bruins remain without their top defenceman.