Boston Bruins Battle Rangers, Flyers NHL Weekend

Considered by many to be the best team in hockey, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins take on two elite Eastern Conference foes this weekend as each team battles for the conference’s top spot.

The Bruins (30-13-1) have the best offense in the NHL with 3.5 goals per game and rank second in the NHL in defense with just two goals against per game. After going 23-3-1 in their previous 27 games, the Bruins have hit a “rough patch,” going just 4-3-0 over their last seven.

Saturday, the Bruins host the New York Rangers at 1:00 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised nationally on NHL Network. Like the Bruins, the Rangers (29-12-4) are currently in the elite team version of a “slump,” going 2-3-0 over their last five games after going 10-1-0 the previous 11.

Whichever team prevails on Saturday will enter Sunday’s action as the first place team in the Eastern Conference.

After facing the defensive-minded Rangers – who rank third in the NHL in goals against per game at 2.1 – Saturday, the Bruins will have to shift gears to take on the offensive-minded Philadelphia Flyers on the road Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (ET).

Philadelphia (27-14-4) ranks behind only Boston in total offense with 3.3 goals per game. Since starting the year off 20-7-3, Philadelphia is 7-7-1 over its last 15 games, struggling to find consistency between goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky. Boston won 6-0 in its last trip to Philadelphia back on December 17.

Moving back to Saturday, the NHL Network will also be broadcasting a matchup between two of the Western Conference’s best teams at 4:00 p.m. (ET) as the San Jose Sharks visit the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose (26-15-5) is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games and hopes to extend its lead in the Pacific Division while the Canucks (28-15-4) look to avoid losing their third straight at home.

San Jose and Vancouver played on December 28 in San Jose and January 2 in Vancouver, and split the series as both games went to overtime and the road team came out on top 3-2 in each one.

While it won’t be the “Crosby versus Ovechkin” game it was hoped to be with Sidney Crosby still out with a concussion, Washington at Pittsburgh at 12:30 p.m. (ET) broadcast nationally Sunday on NBC should still be a great game between two big rivals. Since battling in a seven-game series back in the 2008-09 playoffs, these two teams have grown to hate each other.

Washington (25-18-2) has been picking up steam with an 8-3-0 record over their last 11 games and Pittsburgh (25-17-4) has won four straight games after losing its previous six. Washington is 8-12-1 on the road this season while Pittsburgh is 12-7-2 at home.

If you like heavy chalk or big underdogs, don’t miss the Columbus at Detroit game Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Detroit (31-15-1) has won five straight and has the best record in the Western Conference while Columbus (13-28-5) is dead last in the league by a considerable margin. Columbus is just 1-8 SU in its last nine trips to Detroit, but did beat Detroit 4-1 in Columbus earlier this season as a +155 underdog at home.