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The Ottawa Senators will battle the Boston Bruins on Thursday at the TD Garden. It will be an Atlantic Division showdown as we continue our NHL odds series and make a Senators-Bruins prediction and pick.
The Bruins are 37-27 over the past 64 games against the Senators. Yet, the Sens have won both games this season, including a recent 6-5 overtime thriller on January 18, 2025, at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators are 6-4 in 10 games against the Bruins. But the Bruins are 3-2 in the past five games against the Senators at the TD Garden despite a two-game losing streak at home.
Here are the Senators-Bruins NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Senators-Bruins Odds
Ottawa Senators: +1.5 (-250)
Moneyline: +104
Boston Bruins: -1.5 (+198)
Moneyline: -125
Over: 5.5 (-114)
Under: 5.5 (-106)
How To Watch Senators vs Bruins
Time: 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
TV: ESPN+ and NESN
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why the Senators Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Senators have persevered despite losing goalie Linus Ullmark for an indefinite amount of time. Yet, they badly need him back, and they need to score a lot more than they did against the New York Rangers this past Tuesday. Instead, the Sens would prefer to score six goals, which they accomplished on Saturday against the Bruins.
What made Saturday's win impressive was that they rallied from a 5-3 third-period deficit. Amazingly, they showed resilience. Josh Norris had two goals. Meanwhile, Nick Jensen and Tim Stutzle each added a goal and an assist. Adam Gaudette also notched a goal. The offense fired 44 shots on goal and won 53 percent of their faceoffs. Likewise, they went 1 for 3 on the powerplay.
The only issue on offense is Brady Tkachuk, who has not scored in eight games. Ultimately, the Senators need their best player to find the back of the net to give them the best chance to cover.
Defense and goaltending were a major issue on Saturday (and again on Tuesday), a major reason the Sens did not cover the spread. Sadly, goalie Leevi Merilainan allowed five goals and made 23 saves. The Senators leveled 28 hits and blocked 16 shots, with a good chunk coming in the third period. Additionally, the Sens went 3 for 4 on the penalty kill in this game.
When they took the game into OT, the Senators were able to keep calm and not allow the Bruins to score the game-winner. While they also could not get the game-winner, they did enough to make it to the shootout. Then, the Senators won the shootout thanks to Stutzle scoring the only shootout attempt.
The Senators will cover the spread if they can get off to a hot start and score early. Then, they need the defense and goaltending to clamp down and play well, preventing the Bruins from getting easy chances at the net.
Why the Bruins Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Bruins covered the spread on Saturday because they were able to score early and frequently. While they ultimately lost the game, that was more due to luck than bad play. Of course, blowing a two-goal lead in the third period certainly did not help either.
David Pastrnak was awesome with one goal and two assists, while Pavel Zacha added a goal and an assist. Also, Morgan Geekie had a goal and an assist. Defenseman Mason Lohrei added two helpers. However. the Bruins need more from Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm, who both failed to get on the stat sheet. The Bruins finished with 28 shots on goal and won 47 percent of the faceoffs. Furthermore, they went 1 for 4 on the powerplay.
Jeremy Swayman struggled in this game, mainly because he took so many shots. However, he likely will start on Wednesday, meaning that Joonas Korpisalo will make the start in this game. The defense in front did the best they could, with 29 hits and 25 blocked shots. Expect them to try and do that again.
The Bruins will cover the spread if Pastrnak can continue finding great chances, and Marchand and Lindholm can make some plays. Then, they must do better in the faceoff circle and defend better in front of Korpisalo.
Final Senators-Bruins Prediction & Pick
The Senators are 19-28 against the spread, while the Bruins are 18-30 against the odds. Moreover, the Sens are 12-14 against the spread on the road, while the Bruins are 10-14 against the spread at home. The Senators are 14-28-5 against the over/under, while the Bruins are 24-23-1 against the over/under.
The Senators and Bruins are both fighting for a playoff spot. Even with their issues in the net, I think the Senators will do enough to stay in this game, allowing them to cover the spread on the road.
Final Senators-Bruins Prediction & Pick: Senators +1.5 (-250)