Sports Betting
Bruins Playoff Odds Plummet; Betting Odds Teeter

Despite a bare-knuckled 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday, the Boston Bruins playoff odds are a mere fraction of what they were just a couple of weeks ago.
Brace yourselves. The Bruins now statistically have a lesser chance of playing in the postseason than the Montreal Canadiens, at least according to analytics site MoneyPuck.com. The Bruins have a 30.4% chance of being invited to Lord Stanley’s dance, while Montreal is at 34%. Despite the Bruins win Thursday, Ottawa is well above a 50/50 shot, clocking in at 57%.
Despite a first-half swoon and more drama than the finale of Yellowstone, the New York Rangers are strong favorites to make the playoffs at 61%.
Bettors at FanDuel are a lot more optimistic, and the NHL odds have the Bruins as slight favorites to make the postseason at -118. However, oddsmakers really like the rest of the Atlantic Division powers to make the playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs are -6000, the Florida Panthers are -4500, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are -770 to play beyond the regular season.
That’s quite the difference.
Read More: Bruins Show What They’re Made of Against Senators
The Bruins are in a precarious position in the standings. They’re currently in third place, one point ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but Tampa Bay has an astounding four games in hand. We’re not sure how that happens on the NHL schedule, but the Bruins are one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card, and Columbus has one game in hand.
The Bruins are two points up on the Rangers, who have two games in hand.
It’s a jumbled picture, at the very least.
The Bruins are on the road Saturday to put the final nail in the Buffalo Sabres’ chances. They will then begin a three-game homestand, highlighted by a game against their playoff competitors, the Rangers, on Feb. 1. Young players like Morgan Geekie, who is one the FanDuel bets to score, could make the difference.
Between Feb. 1 and March 1, the Bruins won’t face any of the teams they’re in direct competition with unless the New York Islanders (Feb. 27), who signed Tony DeAngelo Friday, make a run out of the Eastern Conference basement or the Pittsburgh Penguins (March 1) can find an ounce of consistency in their game and stick around long enough to be relevant before the March 7 NHL trade deadline.
Or the Islanders, Penguins and Bruins could be sellers at the trade deadline?
Looking up in the standings, if the Bruins can keep their footing without the injured Jeremy Swayman, they’re only five points (with one extra game played) behind the defending Stanley Cup champion and slightly disinterested in the regular season version of the Florida Panthers.
With Swayman out of the lineup, the Bruins recalled goalie Michael DiPietro to fill the void between the pipe behind Joonas Korpisalo, who registered the shutout over his former team, Ottawa.
