BEST LINE: Pinnacle +157

Posted at 12:45 PM EST

OT included. The Bruins got off to a bit of a slow start with three losses in their first four games but they have done a complete 180 by winning three of their next four. No question that the Bruins are a threat in the East but we’re seeing some weaknesses from Boston that we have not seen in the past few years. The biggest regression is on defense where Boston has allowed as many goals as they have scored and Tuukka Rask doesn’t look as invincible as he has in previous years. That’s not to say Rask is in trouble because it’s way too early to pass judgement in such a small sample size but he’s still been tagged for nine goals against in his past two games on just 60 shots. It looks like the B’s are going with Niklas Svedberg tonight anyway. It’s also worth noting that the Bruins got a bit of a monkey off their backs by winning two straight and three of four and that they have the Maple Leafs up next in Toronto on Saturday night.

By contrast, the Islanders got off to a torrid start by winning their first four games and scoring 19 goals in the process. It must be noted however, that the Islanders played Carolina twice and Buffalo once and combined, that pair has one victory in 12 games. The Islanders other victory occurred against the Sharks in OT but that was a flattering score to the Sharkies, as the Islanders outshot them 45-23 and spent most of the game in San Jose’s end. Most recently, the Islanders have dropped two straight to Pittsburgh and Toronto and because of that they are taking back a pretty hefty price here. Thing is, the Islanders were not outplayed in either one of their past two games. They had a 1-0 lead on Pittsburgh through one and were down 2-1 after two. The Pens added an empty netter to make the final 3-1 with shots on goal being just about even and so too, was time spent in the offensive end. Against the Maple Leafs, Jaroslav Halak had one of his stinkers that he has a few times every year and the Leafs buried five by him on just 28 shots. Now the Islanders with three strong road games in three tries this year take the road again with their extremely dangerous offense and much improved defense. It would come as no shock whatsoever if New York played another strong road game and emerged victorious. The tag on the Islanders is too high.