Boston Bruins @ New Jersey Devils - April 8, 2025

As the Boston Bruins prepare to face off against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center, there’s plenty of data to dissect that could influence the outcome. The oddsmakers have opened with the Devils as -217 moneyline favorites, which reflects their current form and home advantage.

The Devils come into this matchup riding a three-game winning streak, recently dominating the Rangers 4-0 in their last outing. Their offensive stats reveal an average of 2.96 goals per game on 28.1 shots, translating to a shooting percentage of about 10.9%. With a Corsi percentage sitting at 52.2%, they are generating more chances than they are allowing, indicating strong puck possession.

Defensively, New Jersey is performing well too; they boast a solid save percentage of 90.2% and an impressive penalty kill rate at 82.4%. This combination makes them formidable opponents for any team struggling to find its scoring touch—like the Bruins.

Boston’s recent form has been less than stellar; they’ve lost eleven out of their last twelve games and most recently fell to the Sabres by a score of 6-3. Their offensive production averages just 2.6 goals per game on roughly 26.5 shots with a lower shooting percentage of around 10.4%. The Bruins’ struggles are compounded by their defensive metrics; they have only an 88.6% save rate and a concerning penalty kill success rate of just under 77%.

When we look at special teams, New Jersey shines with a power play conversion rate of about 28%, generating approximately three opportunities per game and netting nearly one power play goal per contest (0.76). In contrast, Boston’s power play has struggled significantly, converting only about 15% of their chances (0.43 goals per game), which may prove detrimental against an opponent like New Jersey that excels in both scoring and stopping power plays.

Considering all these factors leads me to predict that while I expect New Jersey will emerge victorious tonight due to their superior overall performance metrics and current momentum, I believe Boston will manage to cover the spread given their need for redemption after such dismal results lately.

In terms of total scoring for this matchup, I anticipate it will remain under the set line of 5.5 goals based on both teams’ recent trends—Boston’s offense is faltering while New Jersey’s defense has been stout.

To summarize: expect New Jersey to secure the win but look for Boston to keep it close enough to cover the spread while keeping total scores under expectations based on recent performances from both squads.