The New Jersey Devils (16-12-1) and Ottawa Senators (13-11-4) meet in the NHL tonight. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Senators are favored by -1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 5.5 (-115o / -105u). The Senators are a -140 favorite to win outright, while the Devils are +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Devils vs. Senators predictions and NHL picks.
Devils vs. Senators Odds, Pick
| Devils Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -220 | 5.5 -115o / -105u | +120 |
| Senators Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +180 | 5.5 -115o / -105u | -140 |
- Devils vs. Senators Spread: Senators -1.5 (+180 ), Devils +1.5 (-220)
- Devils vs. Senators Over/Under: 5.5 (-115o / -105u)
- Devils vs. Senators Moneyline: Devils +120, Senators -140
Devils vs. Senators Preview
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey has no one to blame for its current struggles other than its superstar Jack Hughes.
I have no idea what he could’ve possibly done to hurt his hand at a steak dinner and would require surgery, but since that incident, the Devils have gone 4-8, and are currently on a five-game skid.
They’ve also played terrible 5-on-5 hockey, ranking in the bottom-10 in expected goals with a 46.74 xGF% and 11th-worst defensively with a 2.92 xGA/60.
What’s even worse is that over the past three games, they’ve been shut out twice, and have only scored one goal.
Certainly, it’s a concerning trend. While the power play has fared fine since Hughes has been gone, scoring at a near-20% clip, the penalty kill hasn’t. New Jersey’s PK has converted 70% of the times since.
A major blockage for the Devils will be and has always been their goaltending. Jacob Markstrom, even though he dealt with injuries earlier, picks and chooses when he wants to be good.
Right now, he’s been terrible with a -2.9 GSAx. And since he’s been back, he’s posting an .877 SV%.
Ottawa Senators
You want to talk about struggling? Look no further than the Senators.
Fresh off a seven game road trip where it went 4-3 (which is actually impressive), Ottawa has returned home and played two games, yet lost them both to the Rangers and the Bruins.
Once again, it’s another season of “let’s hope we make the playoffs” for the Senators, as they’re currently second to last in the Eastern Conference.
And it’s actually unfortunate, because Ottawa has been playing exceptional 5-on-5 hockey. In the past month, the Senators have achieved a league best expected goals with a 59.01 xGF% and a second-best 2.25 xGA/60.
The one outlier? Goaltending. It’s always the goaltending for this team.
Linus Ullmark may have gotten a little better since I last wrote on the Senators a few weeks back, but he continues to deal with consistency issues ever since he arrived in Canada’s nation's capital, posting a season total of an .877 SV% and a league-worst -10.3 GSAx.
Devils vs. Senators Prediction
This is a hard game to predict just because both teams have been so bad for a few weeks.
On Saturday against the Bruins, Jake Allen started, so I do anticipate Markstrom suiting up for the Devils, and for Ottawa, I do expect Ullmark coming in.
Even if Ullmark doesn’t start, Leevi Meriläinen isn’t much of a prize either as he’s posting similar numbers in much less starts.
This total here is at 5.5 goals probably because New Jersey hasn’t had much luck putting the puck in the net, but those kind of trends typically don’t last very long.
I think because Ottawa’s goaltending is so poor, we see a New Jersey tuck in a few goals. Not only that, the Senators even strength game has been so exceptional that I anticipate a few goals from them as well.
Not just that, the Senators have found themselves in a few slugfests as of late, so a high scoring game is definitely a possibility. Let’s take the over here.
Pick: Over 5.5 (-115)
