Sunday's best NHL bets
Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers (+111, 5.5)
The Florida Panthers enjoyed some holiday cheer during the brief Christmas break. They also enjoyed their first consecutive days off without a game since November 11.
Florida has had a frantic schedule this winter playing 22 road games ? the most in the league ? and going through a gauntlet that had the Panthers playing 24 games in 42 nights. Their 39 contests heading into Sunday is tied for most games played in the NHL.
Florida is coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers Wednesday, which dropped the team to 5-5 in its last 10 games.
"We're a road weary group," coach Pete DeBoer told the Sun Sentinel. "It's been a long grind and to our guys' credit they've been battling, even right to the buzzer [Wednesday]."
Florida won the most recent meeting with the Bruins, 1-0 in a shootout, back on November 12.
Pick: Florida
Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins (-230, 6)
The Penguins went into the break with a bang. Pittsburgh scored eight goals on the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night, giving the team its seventh win in the last 10 games and improving the defending Stanley Cup champs to 13-6-1-1 at home this season.
The Pens have had three full days off heading into Sunday?s contests. Head coach Dan Bylsma made a few lineup tweaks before the break, mixing up the centers on the two top forward lines. Sidney Crosby was lined up with Ruslan Fedotenko and Pascal Dupuis, who usually bookend Evgeni Malkin. Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin teamed with the burly Russian.
"Last game, I thought Pascal Dupuis had one of his better games five on five, so you want to get him out there in different situations," Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "That may be one of the reasons."
Those changes ignited the Penguins offense, pushing the team over the total for just the second time in 10 games. Pittsburgh boasts a 14-23 over/under record but in the last four meetings with the Maple Leafs, the over is a perfect 4-0.
Pick: Over 6
Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers (+111, 5.5)
The Florida Panthers enjoyed some holiday cheer during the brief Christmas break. They also enjoyed their first consecutive days off without a game since November 11.
Florida has had a frantic schedule this winter playing 22 road games ? the most in the league ? and going through a gauntlet that had the Panthers playing 24 games in 42 nights. Their 39 contests heading into Sunday is tied for most games played in the NHL.
Florida is coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers Wednesday, which dropped the team to 5-5 in its last 10 games.
"We're a road weary group," coach Pete DeBoer told the Sun Sentinel. "It's been a long grind and to our guys' credit they've been battling, even right to the buzzer [Wednesday]."
Florida won the most recent meeting with the Bruins, 1-0 in a shootout, back on November 12.
Pick: Florida
Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins (-230, 6)
The Penguins went into the break with a bang. Pittsburgh scored eight goals on the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night, giving the team its seventh win in the last 10 games and improving the defending Stanley Cup champs to 13-6-1-1 at home this season.
The Pens have had three full days off heading into Sunday?s contests. Head coach Dan Bylsma made a few lineup tweaks before the break, mixing up the centers on the two top forward lines. Sidney Crosby was lined up with Ruslan Fedotenko and Pascal Dupuis, who usually bookend Evgeni Malkin. Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin teamed with the burly Russian.
"Last game, I thought Pascal Dupuis had one of his better games five on five, so you want to get him out there in different situations," Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "That may be one of the reasons."
Those changes ignited the Penguins offense, pushing the team over the total for just the second time in 10 games. Pittsburgh boasts a 14-23 over/under record but in the last four meetings with the Maple Leafs, the over is a perfect 4-0.
Pick: Over 6
