Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils, NHL forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with every score and the time left. Above the line favors NJ; hover for each play.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Bruins- Morgan GeekieGoals1
- Pavel ZachaAssists1
- Morgan GeekiePoints1
Devils- Dawson MercerGoals2
- Nico HischierAssists2
- Nico HischierPoints3
Scoring summary
- P313:32Nico Hischier Goal (23) Tip-In, assists: Dougie Hamilton (24)1–5
- P216:13Dawson Mercer Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Justin Dowling (2), Timo Meier (19)1–4
- P216:01Stefan Noesen Goal (18) Backhand, assists: Nico Hischier (19), Jack Hughes (38)1–3
- P24:12Dougie Hamilton Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Jesper Bratt (38), Nico Hischier (18)1–2
- P21:24Dawson Mercer Goal (11) Snap Shot, assists: Timo Meier (18)1–1
- P15:50Morgan Geekie Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (32), Pavel Zacha (17)1–0
Turning points
The 5 plays that swung the win chance most, each judged at its own moment: the chance with the score just before it against just after.
- P15:50Morgan Geekie Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (32), Pavel Zacha (17)BOS 1 – 0 NJ · BOS 36% → 51% +15BOS 36% → 51%+15 pts
- P21:24Dawson Mercer Goal (11) Snap Shot, assists: Timo Meier (18)BOS 1 – 1 NJ · NJ 44% → 62% +18NJ 44% → 62%+18 pts
- P24:12Dougie Hamilton Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Jesper Bratt (38), Nico Hischier (18)BOS 1 – 2 NJ · NJ 62% → 78% +16NJ 62% → 78%+16 pts
- P216:01Stefan Noesen Goal (18) Backhand, assists: Nico Hischier (19), Jack Hughes (38)BOS 1 – 3 NJ · NJ 79% → 92% +12NJ 79% → 92%+12 pts
- P216:13Dawson Mercer Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Justin Dowling (2), Timo Meier (19)BOS 1 – 4 NJ · NJ 92% → 98% +6NJ 92% → 98%+6 pts
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Devils 65%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: NHL favorites the forecast gave 65–70% have won 67.6% of 306 graded games.
- Market
- NJ 65%
- ML BOS +175 / NJ -210
- Pre-line forecast
- NJ 63%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- NJ 56%
- Ratings vs. market
- −8.6 pts
- NJ: Elo 56.5%, market 65.1%
- Fair odds
- NJ -186
- BOS +186 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- BOS 2.3 – 3.2 NJ
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 5.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | BOS | NJ | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1505 | 1505 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +35 | Worth 35 Elo in the NHL |
| Starting goalies | −1 | +10 | BOS: Jeremy Swayman: team allows 0.02 more goals than with its usual starter (≈42 weighted starts) · NJ: Jacob Markstrom: team allows 0.24 fewer goals than with its usual starter (≈40 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | NJ +45 Elo | NJ 56.5% | |
| Market-implied ratings | NJ 65.0% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | NJ 63.3% | 20% Elo, 80% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | NJ 65.1% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Overtime and shootout losses count as losses in these records. Shot share is a team's share of the shots on goal in its games. PDO adds shooting and save percentages: far from 100 tends to even out.
| BOS | Stat | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| 26th of 322.8 | Goals scored | 3.015th of 32 |
| 22nd of 323.2 | Goals allowed | 2.65th of 32 |
| 26th of 32−0.4 | Margin | +0.58th of 32 |
| 19th of 3249.4% | Shot share | 53.3%4th of 32 |
| 24th of 3289.6% | Save percentage | 90.8%7th of 32 |
| 26th of 323–7 | Last 10 | 2–831st of 32 |
| 25th of 329–15 | Road vs home | 12–1218th of 32 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  BOS |  NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Puck line | 19–29 | 20–29 |
| Last 10 | 6–4 | 0–10 |
| Favorite | 9–19 | 17–27 |
| Underdog | 10–10 | 3–2 |
| Overs–unders | 24–24 | 15–34 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 6–4 | 1–9 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
BOS 2–1 NJ in their last 3 meetings; the forecast called 3 of 3.