Players to target: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Backes
The Boston Bruins are a massive -291 favorite against the lowly Arizona Coyotes tonight, and Arizona is the NHL's worst possession team thanks to a 44.7 Corsi For percentage. They also just traded away their top line center, Martin Hanzal.
The Bruins, however, are the league's best possession team (55.6 Corsi For Percentage) and have averaged 4.25 goals over their past 8 games.
The top line of Marchand, Bergeron, and Backes has been dominant, posting a 60.3 Corsi For Percentage, 79.2 Scoring Chances For Percentage, and 61.1 Corsi For per 60 minutes. None of Arizona's current lines are above a 50 Corsi For Percentage, so this group for the Bruins should have the puck on their sticks a lot.
To make the matchup even sweeter, the Coyotes are killing penalties at only a 77.6 percent clip, while the Bruins have 8 power play goals in their last 8 games. Look for this line to be at a big advantage at even-strength and on the power play -- they all get significant time in 5 on 4 situations.