Devils vs Bruins

Nico Hischier and the Devils roll into Boston on a four-game losing streak, shut out in back-to-back games, while the Bruins have alternated wins and losses over their last eight but are coming off a 5-2 statement win over St. Louis at TD Garden. With Jack Hughes sidelined for roughly two months after finger surgery and several Devils depth pieces and defensemen also on the shelf, New Jersey’s attack has looked toothless at five-on-five, especially on the road, even though Hischier traditionally produces well against Boston. On the other side, the Bruins are missing David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, yet their current ESPN-listed roster still has a deep spine of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and Pavel Zacha, with Geekie sitting on 20 goals and Zacha heating up, which helps offset those absences. Jeremy Swayman’s 11-7-0 line with a 2.80 GAA and .910 save percentage gives Boston a clear edge in goal over the struggling Jake Allen/Jacob Markstrom tandem, and home-ice should matter with the Bruins driving play better than a Devils team that’s suddenly leaking chances and confidence. At plus money, backing Boston on the moneyline leans into form, goaltending, and depth against a tired, short-handed Devils group, earning this play a B+ for a strong balance of win probability and value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 06/12/2025 09:30am

Both teams enter with noisy recent trends that pull this total in different directions: New Jersey has dropped four straight and been blanked in its last two, while Boston just hung five on the Blues and has been involved in several higher-event games lately despite alternating wins and losses. The injury list is heavy on star power with Hughes out for New Jersey and Pastrnak plus McAvoy out for Boston, but that’s partially offset by hot depth scorers like Geekie and Zacha for the Bruins and recent goal surges from Hischier and Timo Meier before the Devils’ mini-scoring blackout, suggesting New Jersey’s current finishing slump is more variance than structural collapse. Boston’s blue line without McAvoy and multiple depth defenders is more vulnerable to rush chances, and the Devils still generate decent volume even when they’re not cashing; combine that with a Bruins offense that’s getting secondary scoring from multiple lines and a Devils goaltending duo that has coughed up multi-goal periods repeatedly over the last week, and you have a matchup that can get to six via 4-2 or 3-3 late. Swayman’s underlying numbers are solid enough to keep this from being a track meet, but with both teams on busy schedules and defensive depth thinned by injuries, Over 5.5 at -115 grades out as a B: not a slam dunk, yet a fair price on a realistic scoring script that leans slightly higher than the market. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 06/12/2025 09:30am

The recent form split — Devils mired in a four-game skid and the Bruins bouncing back-and-forth but fresh off a multi-goal home win — points away from laying a puckline with a slumping road favorite, especially one missing its top creator in Hughes and several regulars up front and on the back end. Boston’s own injury situation (no Pastrnak, no McAvoy, plus a couple of depth pieces) caps their offensive ceiling but also tends to funnel them into tighter, grinder-style games at five-on-five, where Swayman’s steady play and a deep center group make it hard for opponents to win by margin. New Jersey’s path to covering -1.5 relies on suddenly solving its scoring woes against a Bruins team that, even short-handed, still suppresses chances reasonably well at home and can lean on Geekie, Zacha, Lindholm, and Mittelstadt to tilt possession; that feels like a narrower outcome band than Boston simply keeping this within a goal. Given the high price on Bruins +1.5, the likelihood of a one-goal result makes this a reasonably safe puckline position but with limited monetary upside, so the recommendation on Boston +1.5 at -250 comes in at a B-, reflecting a high probability of cashing but less-than-ideal value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 06/12/2025 09:30am