Atlantic Division foes meet for the fourth time this season as the Ottawa Senators travel to the Boston Bruins. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Senators-Bruins prediction and pick.

Ottawa comes into the night fifth in the Atlantic division, six points behind Florida in the Wild Card race. They also come in off a win that broke a five-game losing streak, beating the Penguins 2-1. Boston is closing in on clinching the Atlantic division, and also looking to lock up home ice in the Eastern Conference playoffs while snagging a President’s cup. They are coming off a 7-0 win on Sunday, their second shutout win in three games. Boston returns home after a five-game road trip, where they have been the best home team in the NHL, and Ottawa hopes to spoil their homecoming. 

Here are the Senators-Bruins NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Senators-Bruins Odds

Ottawa Senators: +1.5 (+108)

Boston Bruins: -1.5 (-130)

Over: 6.5 (-104)

Under: 6.5 (-118)

How To Watch Senators vs. Bruins

TV: NESN / ESPN+

Stream: NHLPP / ESPN+

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

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Why The Senators Could Cover The Spread

The Boston Bruins have lost in regulation only 11 times this year, and the Senators are one of the teams that have pulled off this feat. Actually, Ottawa is one of only two teams in the NHL that have defeated Boston twice in the season. The other team is Florida, who also has one regulation win, and one in overtime. That alone should give the Senators confidence. 

Leading scorer Tim Stutzle has been a key in both of the wins for the Senators over the Bruins this year. He had a goal in the win in December, and in the October victory he had a goal with two assists. In the loss, Stutzle failed to record a point. Early scoring was also a key for Ottawa, as they scored first in both of their victories, but were behind early in their loss.

That first goal may be a major factor for Ottawa. In nine of their last ten games, the team that scored first in an Ottawa game has gone on to win the game. Ottawa has one of the highest win percentages in the NHL when scoring first this year, and needs to set the tone early in Boston. 

Goaltending will be a question for the Senators tonight. With both Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg still out, Mads Sogaard would be the expected starter. Since coming up in February, he has started 11 games, with five wins, and six losses. He is giving up 3.49 goals per game on the season as well. That average is slightly concerning. If he goes under, then the Senators have a good chance, but if he goes over, the Senators have only won twice since January 1st when they give up four or more goals. 

Why The Bruins Could Cover The Spread

Why could the Bruins cover? They are the best team in the NHL and are on pace to be one of the best ever. They just demolished the Buffalo Sabres to the tune of 7-0. The Bruins come home, where they are the best home team in the NHL. They have only lost six times at home this year, but three of those six are the game coming off a road trip. The offense is also on fire. They have won 14 of their last 17 games, and in that span are averaging 4.06 goals per game. They come into the game tonight facing a goalie that is giving up over three goals per game and should be able to take advantage. 

Linus Ullmark, who has been the top goaltender in the NHL this year, was off on Sunday, but he has only lost one time since the All-Star break. In that time he is only giving up 2.22 goals per game and only has one game with a save percentage below .923. That was also the only game that Ullmark lost. Ullmark even scored a goal in that time frame, which is pretty amazing. 

If scoring first is going to be important for Ottawa, that may be difficult. Ullmark has made sure Boston has scored first in six of the last nine, but he has given up the first goal in each of the last three. Scoring on Ullmark is very difficult, and Ottawa may not have the necessary weapons to do so. 

Final Senators-Bruins Prediction & Pick

Boston has shown dominance over the last month and a half. They are also showing little signs of slowing down. Considering that only two teams have been able to pull off beating Boston twice this year, it is hard to believe a team will pull off a third victory. The goalie situation in Ottawa is also very concerning. One of the Ottawa victories was because of an amazing performance by Cam Talbot, who is out. The other was because Ottawa scored seven goals. Ullmark did not start that game, although he played the third period. It also seems very unlikely Ullmark gives up a ton of goals in any game right now. An alternative line of Boston -2.5 to get plus odds could be attractive here. 

Final Senators-Bruins Prediction & Pick:  Boston -1.5 (-130)