November 2 NHL Picks and Best Bets: Bruins Look to Continue Dominance of Senators

• The Bruins have won eight straight games against the Senators
• The Maple Leafs could get John Tavares back for their game with the Flyers
• Check the betting preview below for picks on a 14-game Saturday night slate

It’s a very busy Saturday in the NHL with 14 games on tap for November 2nd. Sportsbooks have listed odds for all the matchups.

I’ve highlighted my three best bets for tonight’s games, below.

 Bruins vs Senators Odds

Bruins Look to Continue Dominance of Senators

The 9-1-2 Bruins have been one of the league’s best teams this season and are going to be well-rested, having not played since Tuesday against San Jose. They have beat the Senators eight straight times and have home-ice advantage on Saturday.

Boston owns a 5-0-1 record at TD Garden and are facing a 3-7-1 Ottawa team that hasn’t won a road game this season. The Bruins have one of the best lines in the NHL in the “perfection” line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. This line was held to just to one goal in their last outing and will be looking to rebound Saturday.

Tuuka Rask vs Craig Anderson

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has arguably been the league’s best goaltender this season with a .951 save percentage in seven starts. Ottawa’s Craig Anderson is only sporting a .909 save percentage.

Tuukka Rask since the start of last postseason: 21-9-1, 1.88 GAA, .938 save pct.

— Tony Massarotti (@TonyMassarotti) October 30, 2019

Anderson lost both his starts to Boston last season and surrendered seven goals in those defeats. With how well Boston has played at home this season, I don’t see the Sens’ netminder having an answer for a dynamic Bruins offense that is averaging 3.42 goals per game.

Pick: Bruins -1.5 (-145)

Maple Leafs vs Flyers Odds

John Tavares could Return vs Flyers

The Maple Leafs could get star forward John Tavares back in the lineup for Saturday’s matchup against the Flyers. The former Islanders’ captain has missed the past six games after he suffered a broken finger in a loss to the Capitals on October 16.

Tavares will travel with the team today and sounded hopeful about playing tomorrow v Flyers

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 1, 2019

The biggest area Tavares will benefit the Leafs in is the power play. The Maple Leafs are only 2-for-20 in the last six games on the power play and rank in the bottom half of the league with a 19.6 power-play percentage. There’s no reason a power-play unit that features Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Tyson Barrie shouldn’t be one of the league’s best.

Flyers Played on Friday

The Flyers are going to be tired playing for a second consecutive night. They needed a shootout to beat the the lowly Devils at the Prudential Center on Friday and have been wildly inconsistent this season. They surrendered 12 goals in back-to-back losses before getting back in the win column against New Jersey.

The Maple Leafs have won two of the last three meetings against the Flyers and haven’t lost to them in regulation since December 2017. The Flyers will be going with Brian Elliott in net after Carter Hart played Friday. Elliott has struggled against Toronto in his career and was torched for seven goals by this Leafs offense in his start against them last season.

Pick: Maple Leafs +1.5 (+195)

 Kings vs Blackhawks Odds

Blackhawks Won Prior Meeting

Chicago looked like the much better team when these two teams faced off in Chicago on Sunday. The Blackhawks got two goals and an assist from Dylan Strome and three points from Alex DeBrincat en route to a commanding 5-1 victory.

The Blackhawks haven’t played since Tuesday and should deliver another strong offensive performance against the Kings on Saturday. Chicago has been shutout in two of their last three contests and will be eager to get on track against one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL and a team they know they can score against.

Kings are Reeling

These are not good good times in Los Angeles. The Kings have sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Division with four straight losses. They’ve given up five goals in each of these defeats and are struggling mightily on the penalty kill, with the second-worst PK percentage in the NHL (68.8).

"Trying to spend a lot of time on the special teams, but today was the first real true day we could work on some other systematic stuff." — Todd McLellan@lakingsinsider dissects practice and more 👇https://t.co/sxIsz3ZILW

— x – LA Kings (@LAKings) November 1, 2019

The Blackhawks haven’t been a good power-play team this season, but they are getting a boost with offensively gifted defense prospect Adam Boqvist expected to make his NHL debut Saturday. Kirby Dach, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, has already made an impact for the Hawks with one goal and an assist after making his NHL debut on Oct. 20.

Pick: Blackhawks (-101)