The Ottawa Senators will travel to TD Garden this Monday night to square off against the Boston Bruins in what could end up being a preview of a first round matchup in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. This Northeast Division showdown is set to get underway at 7 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on NHL Center Ice.

Ottawa snapped a five-game skid with back-to-back road victories over Philadelphia and New Jersey at the end of last week to hold onto the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with 48 points. The total has stayed “under” in its last four games.

The Bruins trail Montreal by one point for the lead in the division and the No.2 seed in the East with a total of 56 points but come into this matchup riding a two-game skid that includes a 4-2 loss to Carolina this past Saturday as -153 road favorites. The total has gone “over” in three of their last four games.

Senators at Bruins Betting Storylines

Defense has been the Senators strong suit all season long with a goals-against average of just 2.1 that is ranked second in the NHL. After allowing an average of 3.2 goals during their recent five-game slide, they returned to form by giving up one goal to the Flyers and shutting out the Devils. Robin Lehner and Craig Anderson continue to split time in goal, but Anderson has the better overall numbers with a GAA of 1.52 and a .949 save percentage and is expected to get the start.

Right winger Daniel Alfredsson leads Ottawa with 10 goals while Kyle Turris leads in total points with eight goals and 16 assists. The team as a whole is ranked 23rd in the league in scoring with an average of 2.4 goals a game and is converting on 17.7 percent of its power-play chances, which is ranked 17th.

Boston is another team that has been extremely stingy on defense with a GAA of 2.2. It continues to lead the league in defending against the power play with a kill rate of 89.8 percent. Tuukka Rask has been rock-solid in goal all season long with a 1.99 GAA and a save percentage of .929 in 30 previous games and should be between the pipes in this one.

The loss of both Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron has put a serious dent into the Bruins’ offensive attack. Marchand (16 goals and 17 assists) remains out with a concussion. However, Bergeron (10 goals and 21 assists) has been upgraded to questionable for Monday night after suffering a mild concussion on April 2. The Bruins are averaging 2.7 goals a game, which is ranked 11th overall.

Senators at Bruins NHL Betting Odds and Trends

BetOnline has opened the Senators as +153 road underdogs for this contest while listing Boston as a -168 home favorite. The over/under for this contest has been set at 5.

The Senators are 5-2 in their last seven games following a win but only 6-14 in their last 20 games on the road. The total has stayed under in their last four road games.

The Bruins are 8-2 in their last home 10 games and 15-6 in their last 21 games on one day’s rest. The total has stayed under in six of their last nine games at home.

Head-to-head in this division rivalry, the road team is 5-2 in the last seven meetings, and the total has stayed under in four of the last six games. Boston has owned this series over the past few seasons with a 13-1 record in the last 14 meetings, including a perfect 4-0 record this year.

Senators at Bruins Picks and Betting Predictions

All four of this year’s meetings were decided by one goal, which has actually been the margin of victory in six of the last eight games between the two. Do not expect anything to change this time around between two teams that know each other extremely well. Boston should be able to snap its two-game skid with a win at home, but the top play is the under on the total line in another low-scoring battle.

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