Boston Bruins DraftKings NHL Fantasy Hockey Preview: April 7 to April 14

Written by Hunter Skoczylas

This article originally appeared on DraftKingsNetwork.com!

The Boston Bruins went 1-2-1 last week, topping the Dallas Stars to begin the week, but dropping conference and divisional matchups to the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers. Boston finds itself in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with a 43-26-9 record, 95 points and a +19 goal differential.

The Bruins have just four regular-season matchups remaining and sit in first place in the Eastern Conference wild-card race. Entering the new week, Boston will face the Carolina Hurricanes, receive three full days of rest, and then take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils.

Boston Bruins' upcoming schedule for the week of April 7:

• Tuesday, April 7 at Carolina Hurricanes
• Saturday, April 11 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sunday, April 12 at Columbus Blue Jackets
• Tuesday, April 14 vs. New Jersey Devils

---

Boston Bruins' DraftKings Fantasy Preview

Tuesday, April 7 at Carolina Hurricanes

• The Carolina Hurricanes are in first place in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference with a 49-22-6 record, 104 points and a +47 goal differential.
• This will be the third and final meeting between these two teams, with each team claiming a win across the first two matchups. Carolina ranks fourth in goals per game, while allowing the seventh-fewest goals per game. The club has played well at even strength, too, ranking 10th in 5v5 goals per 60 and first in 5v5 xGoals%. The Hurricanes are elite on special teams, ranking fifth in PP% and 12th in PK%, while netting the fourth-most power play goals in the NHL.
• There are not many teams that are deeper than the Hurricanes, with 13 skaters totaling at least 25 points on the season. Unsurprisingly, Sebastian Aho (26G, 52A) leads the way in terms of points, with Andrei Svechnikov (29G, 38A) and Seth Jarvis (32G, 34A) rounding out the top three. Jarvis missed eight more games than the other two, yet finds himself just one point behind Svechnikov and 12 points behind Aho. He leads the team in goals and DK FPTS per game with 32 and 12.1, respectively. It's been a healthy split for Carolina's two goaltenders, Brandon Bussi (2.46 GAA, .895 SV%) and Frederik Andersen (3.15 GAA, .870 SV%). Bussi has been the more consistent goaltender, and he continues to stack wins, while Andersen is going to post a career-worst season at 36 years old. Among 94 eligible goaltenders, Bussi and Andersen rank 31st and 74th, respectively, in goals saved above expected.

Saturday, April 11 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are in first place in the Atlantic Division and in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 48-23-6 record, 102 points, and a +64 goal differential.
• This will be the last meeting between these two teams this season, with Tampa Bay winning the first matchup, which included a 3-1 win last week. The Lightning looked a bit more gettable during March, posting an 8-6-2 record, while averaging 3.7 goals and allowing 3.4 goals per game. The club has scored the third-most goals, and it ranks second in 5v5 goals per 60 and fourth in 5v5 Corsi%. Tampa Bay has also allowed the eighth-fewest 5v5 goals against per 60. As for special teams, it is more of the same, with the club ranking 14th in PP% and third in PK%. Interestingly enough, the Lightning have both drawn and taken the most penalties in the NHL, so special-teams opportunities occur often.
• Offensive efficiency isn’t that hard to come by when Nikita Kucherov (43G, 83A) is leading the way. Kucherov is tied with Connor McDavid for the most points in the NHL and has averaged a whopping 16.4 DK FPTS per game this season. The team produces on each line, with Jake Guentzel (37G, 49A) and Brandon Hagel (35G, 38A) rounding out the top three in terms of points. It isn’t necessarily fair when Tampa Bay can score so many goals and still receive elite goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.32 GAA, .912 SV%). Vasilevskiy ranks fourth in goals saved above expected and 14th in SV% above expected, while averaging a league-leading 12.8 DK FPTS per game.

Sunday, April 12 at Columbus Blue Jackets

• The Columbus Blue Jackets are in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-27-12 record, 88 points, and a +3 goal differential.
• This will be the third and final meeting between these two teams, with the Bruins claiming both matchups by one goal each. Columbus was very good prior to the break and arguably better when it returned from the break, but the club has lost six straight games. During this six-game losing streak, the club has averaged just 1.7 goals per game and allowed 3.5 goals per game. On the season, the Blue Jackets have averaged the 18th-most goals and allowed the 15th-most goals per game. When playing at 5-on-5, the club ranks 12th in 5v5 goals per 60 and ninth in 5v5 xGoals%. Columbus has drawn the fewest penalties in the NHL, which has resulted in limited opportunities for its power play unit, which ranks 21st in the NHL in PP%.
• 13 skaters have notched at least 30 points on the season, with the leading point-getter, Zach Werenski (21G, 57A), on pace for a career-best season. Werenski has averaged 14.1 DK FPTS per game, and he ranks second in points and fourth in goals among defensemen. Kirill Marchenko (26G, 38A) and Charlie Coyle (18G, 38A) round out the top three in terms of points. The goaltending tandem of Jet Greaves (2.58 GAA, .909 SV%) and Elvis Merzlikins (3.40 GAA, .883 SV%) has been among the best in the NHL, although Merzlikins’ recent play has been poor. Still, Greaves ranks sixth in goals saved above expected and has allowed just two or fewer goals in eight of his past 12 starts.

Tuesday, April 14 vs. New Jersey Devils

• The New Jersey Devils are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 40-34-3 record, 83 points, and a -16 goal differential.
• This will be the third and final matchup between these two teams, with Boston claiming the first matchup and New Jersey claiming the most recent matchup. The Devils are 6-3-1 across their last 10 games, while averaging 3.8 goals and allowing 3.0 goals per game. This recent goals-scoring surge is quite the development for a Devils squad that ranks 26th in the NHL in goals per game. The club has particularly struggled when playing 5v5, ranking 31st in 5v5 goals per 60 and 23rd in 5v5 goals against per 60. As for special teams, New Jersey ranks 12th in PP% and 15th in PK%.
• Jack Hughes (25G, 47A) has missed 21 games this season, yet he still leads the Devils in points. Hughes has been on another level recently, totaling 36 points across his last 20 outings, which ranks first in the NHL and is one point ahead of Nikita Kucherov, who has been putting up otherworldly numbers. Jesper Bratt (20G, 48A) and Nico Hischier (26G, 36A) have held their own, especially while Hughes was sidelined, but the overall depth production was rather underwhelming and likely a big reason why the Devils won't be making the playoffs. The goaltending tandem of Jacob Markstrom (3.04 GAA, .885 SV%) and Jake Allen (2.70 GAA, .906 SV%) has been a healthy split, with Markstrom logging eight more starts. Allen has been the better goaltender, though, ranking 20th in goals saved above expected. Markstrom ranks 85th in that same category and had allowed at least three goals in eight of his previous nine starts prior to his shutout against Montreal on Apr. 5.

---

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, *(800) 327-5050* OR VISIT *GAMBLINGHELPLINEMA.ORG* (MA), CALL 877-8-HOPENY/TEXT HOPENY (467369) (NY).
PLEASE GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY. 888-789-7777/VISIT *CCPG.ORG* (CT), OR VISIT *WWW.MDGAMBLINGHELP.ORG* (MD).
21+ AND PRESENT IN MOST STATES. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY. VOID IN ONT. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
TERMS: *DRAFTKINGS.COM/SPORTSBOOK*. ON BEHALF OF BOOT HILL CASINO & RESORT (KS). PASS-THRU OF PER WAGER TAX MAY APPLY IN IL.

The Crown Is Yours: ***Sign up for DraftKings*** and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!

All odds provided by ***DraftKings Sportsbook***, lines and odds subject to change.