NHL picks: Rangers vs. Bruins, Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes

Let’s have a look at the most intriguing matchups taking place on the ice this Thursday night!

We’ll preview another installment of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins “Original Six” rivalry before turning our attention to a tilt featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes.

New York Rangers (26-22-6) at Boston Bruins (31-14-7), 7:00 p.m. ET

Several strong trends suggest that the Rangers and Bruins will play a low-scoring hockey game at TD Garden on Thursday night.

The New York offense has effectively vanished over its last four games, mustering a mere five goals in total. The Blueshirts were shut out by the hated New York Islanders in consecutive contests. The Rangers’ power play went 1-for-10 in that four-game span, which spells trouble in this one, as Boston’s penalty kill is the top unit in the NHL.

The Under is 11-3-2 in New York’s last 16 games as road underdogs, and 8-3-1 in the Rangers’ last 12 games played as the second half of a back-to-back.

Meanwhile, the Bruins’ offense has managed a modest 2.9 goals per game over the last calendar month against opponents not named the Buffalo Sabres (12 game sample). David Pastrnak has been held without a goal in six such contests in a row.

The Under is 18-7-2 in Boston’s last 27 games played on one day’s rest, and 35-16-3 in the Bruins’ last 54 tilts played as the fourth game in a six-night stretch.

NHL pick: Under

Chicago Blackhawks (22-25-6) at Carolina Hurricanes (36-10-7), 7:00 p.m. ET

Thursday will mark the third game in four nights between the Blackhawks and Hurricanes at PNC Arena, and the first two yielded no shortage of goals. Carolina took the first meeting 5-2, and the second meeting 6-3. Over bettors should be pleased to see a “6.0” hung up on the oddsboard for this one rather than a “6.5,” and act accordingly.

The Hurricanes present a matchup nightmare for the Blackhawks, who lead the NHL in high-danger scoring chances against, as Carolina is tops in the corresponding offensive category. Sebastian Aho has been particularly dangerous for the ‘Canes of late, notching 17 points during a nine-game point streak.

Chicago is mired in a six-game losing stretch, but their offense hasn’t gone into the tank. In fact, they’ve managed 17 goals in that six-game span. Alex DeBrincat has been especially sharp despite his team’s struggles as a whole, scoring five goals during a four-game scoring streak.

NHL pick: Over