The New Jersey Devils have had a blistering start to the 2022/23 NHL season, but their unbeaten run is set to be challenged when they meet the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Here we look at their chances in our latest free NHL betting picks.
Yes, the New Jersey Devils are on absolute fire this season. On Tuesday night they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 at the Bell Centre, for their tenth win in a row.
Their tour of Canada continues on Thursday, when they travel to the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Here they will face off against a Maple Leafs side that are just starting to hit their straps, after a disappointing start to the season.
Sheldon Keefe’s team went into the new campaign with high expectations. So far, those high expectations haven’t been met, but they have now won their last two, with the most recent win (5-2) coming against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs did start the season as one of the betting favorites to dethrone the Colorado Avalanche. But with a combination of the Maple Leafs’ stuttering start, and the flying starts from both the New Jersey Devils, and the Boston Bruins, has the betting to win the 2023 Stanley Cup altered much? Let’s take a look.
The Colorado Avalanche are still the favorites with the best NHL betting sites. BetOnline makes the Avalanche +525 to retain the Stanley Cup in 2023. The gap in the betting has closed though, with the Boston Bruins now just +625.
The Bruins started the season way outside of the top 10 sides in the betting, but such is their form, they are now second favorites.
As for the Maple Leafs, they are joint seventh in the betting at +1400. This after having started the season at +900, second favorites. The New Jersey Devils are the same odds as their Thursday opponents. Like the Bruins, they were nowhere to be seen in the top 10 in the betting at the start of the season. But such is their form, they are now being seen as part of the group challenging the Avalanche.
| 2023 Stanley Cup Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +525 | +500 | +500 |
| Boston Bruins | +650 | +675 | +650 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +900 | +900 | +850 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Florida Panthers | +1400 | +1400 | +1300 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1400 | +1300 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1400 | +1200 | +1300 |
| Calgary Flames | +1600 | +1500 | +1500 |
| New York Rangers | +1800 | +1800 | +1600 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2000 | +1800 | +2000 |
All the above odds are taken from BetOnline. To learn more about their online betting offers, please check out our BetOnline sportsbook review.
In conference futures betting, the Devils are +800 in the latest Las Vegas NHL odds to win the Eastern Conference. This puts them well behind the favorites, the Boston Bruins at +375, and also behind the Hurricanes (+625), the Maple Leafs (+650), the Panthers (+700), and the Lightning (+750).
So despite getting themselves into the mix with the betting favorites, the Devils are still yet to convince the best Vegas sportsbooks and the betting public that they are capable of keeping up this run.
Maybe that view might change if the Devils can beat the Maple Leafs on Thursday. That would really be a statement victory. And they are certainly in the form to do just that.
As we’ve already mentioned, the Devils have won their last 10 matches. Their overall record this season is 13-3-0, and they currently sit top of the Metropolitan Division with 26 points.
In contrast, the Maple Leafs record reads 9-5-3, and they sit second in the Atlantic Division on 21 points. The Maple Leafs have improved lately though, winning five of their last seven. The two defeats came at the hands of the Golden Knights (4-3 after O|T), and a 4-2 home defeat to the Penguins, which would have really hurt.
That’s the only real blot on their copybook over the last seven matches. You can accept losing a tight match to the Golden Knights, but to follow that up with a 4-2 home defeat to the Penguins is very disappointing.
Sheldon Keefe’s team have bounced back though. Since that loss, they’ve won two on the bounce. First they defeated the Canucks 3-2 at the Scotiabank over the weekend. And they next got revenge on the Penguins, defeating them in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
In the betting to win the match, the Maple Leafs are -145 favorites on the moneyline, the Devils are +131.
Whilst in the handicap market, the Devils are -195 favorites with a +1.5 goals start, and the Maple Leafs are +170, starting from 1.5 behind. On the total points spread, the betting reads -128 for over 6.5 goals, and +116 for under 6.5 goals.
I feel the need to side with the home team here. I’m also looking at +170 for Toronto on the handicap, and although it could be a tight match, I think it could be worth the risk to go with the Maple Leafs to win for my pick, as it is such a good value price.
I’m also thinking that it could be 3-1 or 4-2, so I’m going to go for under 6.5 goals at +116, this could well come into play if the two sides cancel each other out.
