The Boston Bruins begin the second-season defense of their Stanley Cup championship of last year when they meet the Washington Capitals in an NHL first-round Eastern Conference playoff series starting Thursday.
For Thursday's Game 1 (7:30 pm Eastern, NBCS, CBC) WilliamHill.com is listing Boston as a -180 favorite, with Washington getting +160. And the 'over/under' is pegged at five (O -130/U +110).
On the NHL futures market Sportsbook is listing the Bruins as -230 chalk to win this series, with the Capitals getting +190 as the underdog.
Boston is also lined at 9/2 to win the Eastern Conference again and 17/2 to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, while the Caps are getting 14/1 to win the East and 25/1 to win the Cup.
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Boston, coming off its first Stanley Cup championship since 1972, won the Northeast Division this season by going 49-29-4. So the Bruins enter the playoffs as the two seed in the East, even though they posted only the fourth-best record in the conference.
Boston ranked third in the league in scoring and with Tim Thomas, last year's NHL playoffs MVP, minding the net, fifth in goals against.
On the other side of this matchup Washington started 7-0 this season but slumped after that and changed head coaches. The Caps muddled their way though much of the remainder of the season, then finished well, winning 10 of their last 16 games to claim the seven seed in the East.
But Washington actually got outscored by eight goals on the season, while the Bruins posted a +67 goals differential.
The Caps finished 10 points behind Boston in the standings, but Washington took three of four games from the Bruins during the regular season, winning twice in Beantown.
Boston went 24-14-3 at home this season, and 25-15-1 on the road. The Capitals, meanwhile, went 26-11-4 at home but just 16-21-4 on the road.
Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins odds and props at Sportsbook
Washington Capitals (Series Prices) 19/10
Boston Bruins (Series Prices) 10/23
Series Correct Score
Washington Capitals 4-0 20/1
Washington Capitals 4-1 12/1
Washington Capitals 4-2 13/2
Washington Capitals 4-3 7/1
Boston Bruins 4-0 6/1
Boston Bruins 4-1 3/1
Boston Bruins 4-2 7/2
Boston Bruins 4-3 4/1
Total Games
4 9/2
5 9/4
6 2/1
7 21/10
Total Games
Over 5.5 5/8
Under 5.5 13/10
Total Goals
Over/ Under 31.5
Series Game Spread
Washington Capitals +1.5 20/23
Boston Bruins -1.5 20/23
Nicklas Backstrom 1st Round Points vs. Boston Bruins
Over/ Under 6
Alex Ovechkin 1st Round Points vs. Boston Bruins
Over/ Under 5
Alexander Semin 1st Round Points vs. Boston Bruins
Over/ Under 4
Tyler Seguin 1st Round Points vs. Boston Bruins
Over/ Under 5
Patrice Bergeron 1st Round Points vs. Boston Bruins
Over/ Under 4.5
David Krejci 1st Round Points vs. Washington Capitals
Over/ Under 4.5
Milan Lucic 1st Round Points vs. Washington Capitals
Over/ Under 4.5
