The New Jersey Devils (17-24-7) visit the Ottawa Senators (17-23-8) for a 7:30 p.m. ET tilt at Canadian Tire Centre in Canada’s capital city. We analyze the Devils-Senators odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Devils at Senators: Projected starting goalies
MacKenzie Blackwood vs. Marcus Hogberg
Blackwood has started 31 games for the Devils, and he’s recorded a 2.96 goals against average and .905 save percentage. The 23-year-old has been solid away from home, posting a .914 SV% on the road.
Hogberg has gotten more time than veteran Craig Anderson of late. He’s likely to get the nod in this contest between two Eastern Conference foes coming off all-star week. In 11 games this season, the 25-year-old netminder owns a 2.91 GAA and .907 SV%. He was sharp going into the Sens’ bye week, posting a 2.17 GAA and .928 SV over his last four starts.
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Devils at Senators: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:55 p.m. ET.
Prediction
New Jersey 3, Ottawa 2
Moneyline (ML)
The Sens went into the break 1-5-4 over their previous 10 games, and most of those were at home. The Devils were 2-5-1 over eight games immediately preceding the bye week. That stretch followed a nice 6-2-1 run for New Jersey, and the better stretch came against a more difficult run of opponents.
Road teams have fared quite well the first game back after this break the last couple of years. Take the DEVILS (+110).
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
New Jersey (+1.5, -238) is 10-15 against the puck line on the road. At home, Ottawa (-1.5, +190) is 15-9 against the number. The Senators yield 2.92 goals per game at home as opposed to 3.79 on the road.
With no value here, AVOID the puck line in favor of the moneyline wager.
Over/Under (O/U)
Both the Devils and Senators lean slightly toward the Over in their season results. They went into the break ranked 30th and 31st, respectively, in goals allowed. Like Blackwood, Hogberg is a potential play candidate based on some expected regression in a low save percentage on the penalty kill. Underlying numbers for both New Jersey and Ottawa show some expected gains and mainly in the area of preventing goals.
Get in on some UNDER 5.5 (+125) action and hold back more for a possible jump to +130.
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