Felger & Mazz: Should The Bruins Be Favored Against The Senators?
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins are favored to beat the Ottawa Senators in their playoff series by 21 out of 33 experts between NHL.com and ESPN. They're also favored by the bookies in Vegas. But should they be the favorite?
98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger & Massarotti opened Wednesday's program discussing what to expect in the series between the Bruins and Senators and whether the B's should be the favorite. Boston went 0-3-1 in four regular season games against Ottawa, and scored just six goals in the four games - including just one at even strength.
Michael Felger believes the Bruins are being favored by experts and national analysts because they look at league statistical rankings; the Bruins outrank the Senators in key stats like goals scored, goals allowed, power play, and penalty kill. But Felger doesn't believe any of that matters now.
"What does it matter what the Bruins did against Columbus and Montreal and Pittsburgh and Anaheim? It should matter what you did against Ottawa, how the teams match up and how they play against each other," said Felger. "Those, to me, feel more relevant. And in that regard, Ottawa has won seven of eight [dating back to last season]."
The guys also wondered whether the Bruins could be considered a legitimate "dark horse" candidate to win the Stanley Cup. Listen to the full podcast below: