Bruins (-146) @ Rangers (6)
Picks: Rangers +132 and Under 6
The Broadway Blueshirts are quietly playing pretty well. We say quietly because despite four wins in a row and seven victories in their last nine games, the playoffs still don’t look to be in the cards for David Quinn’s team. They’ll have to leapfrog at least three teams in the season’s final two months, but if for nothing else, they seem to be playing with the right kind of urgency. Their +10 goal differential is similar to a couple teams that are above the playoff cut line in the East. New York has done it with defense and goaltending having allowed three or fewer goals in eight of its last nine. Now the Rangers get a chance against one of the league’s best teams to prove their playoff push is for real. A hot team at this kind of a price at home against a team on the second leg of a back-to-back is rarely a bad bet. While Boston is starting its backup goaltender, Jaroslav Halak has earned his starts having posted a 2.36 goals against average this year and a .921 save percentage so we’ll play the game under the total in addition to taking the Rangers side in this battle of original six franchises.