Blue Jackets Improve to -220 Favorites in Series vs Bruins After Taking 2-1 Series Lead

• Following a 2-1 victory in Game 3, the Blue Jackets are -220 favorites to defeat the Bruins
• Strong play by Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene has fueled Columbus’ success in the postseason
• Are the Bruins worth wagering to win the series at +180?

After a nail biting 2-1 victory in Game 3, the Columbus Blue Jackets have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Boston Bruins. They’re now heavily favored to upset another league titan, following their shocking first-round sweep of Tampa Bay.

Slight underdogs after earning a split in Boston, the Jackets are just two wins away from continuing their Cinderella run through the NHL playoffs and reaching their first-ever conference finals.

Updated Bruins vs Blue Jackets Series Price

*Odds taken 05/01/19

Matt Duchene Playing Inspired Hockey

Acquired from the Senators before the trade deadline, Matt Duchene had a slowish start with his new team, picking up just 12 points in 23 contests. But he’s been lighting it up in the playoffs with five goals and four assists in seven games, including scoring both game-winners in this series.

Matt Duchene. Double OT. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/IiqFmitjga

— CBJ Artillery (@CBJArtillery) April 28, 2019

He’s tied for the team lead in scoring with fellow unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin. Both are pacing the Blue Jackets to heights previously unseen and, with each passing game, they’re earning themselves some extra cash come July 1st.

#CBJ has absolutely targeted David Pastrnak. #NHLBruins need to do same to Artemi Panarin or another Jackets star. That being said, is Pastrnak able to handle the physicality of the playoffs?

— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) May 1, 2019

Brad Marchand Making Waves Yet Again

Despite being a superbly talented player, Boston’s Brad Marchand often finds himself under the microscope for sketchy antics and hits that draw the ire from players and media. He was at it again in Game 3 …

Brad Marchand CANT help himself. https://t.co/SGDtAn28HF

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) May 1, 2019

While that certainly was a cheapshot, the outcry to suspend him is laughable. On the list of the worst things he’s done on the ice, that would rank somewhere around #213.

As @Aportzline reported, no discipline will be handed out to Boston's Brad Marchand. I will buck the media majority. The punch, as greasy as it was, wasn't forceful enough to warrant supplemental discipline. Should have been a penalty.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 1, 2019

What should be most alarming is that, in the three games against Columbus, the Bruins’ top line of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have combined for one measly goal (Pastrnak in Game 2). Without that situation being rectified, Boston is in serious trouble.

Sergei Bobrovsky Having Outstanding Postseason

To say Sergei Bobrovsky has finally figured out how to play well in the postseason would be a massive understatement. Before these playoffs, the bugaboo about him was that he crumbled when the games mattered most. With his deft play in the 2019 playoffs, he’s putting to rest any of those concerns.

Sergei Bobrovsky’s Career Playoff Stats

The 30-year-old Russian hasn’t given up more than three goals in any of his seven playoff contests and has surrendered just six goals in the three games against Boston, which includes two OT games and almost three extra periods of hockey.

"This guy's good!" 👏@SergeiBobrovsky with the blocker stop to earn @PepsiCanada NHL Save of the Night honors. pic.twitter.com/tnFONA67YG

— NHL (@NHL) May 1, 2019

It’s not as if the Bruins are strangers to coming back in a series, however, as they erased three series deficits in the first round against Toronto to emerge victorious.

However, Columbus is firing on all cylinders and Boston’s best players haven’t been their best players in this series. Fatigue may be starting to set in.

Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets to win series (-220)