June is a long way off but the New Jersey Devils are still dreaming of NHL glory. It’s going to be a busy month for them as 2025 gets underway. One of their top matches sees them hosting the Boston Bruins on January 22.
The Devils remain in the top three in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, trailing Washington Capitals. Overall, they were third in the Eastern Conference with the other side above them being Toronto Maple Leafs.
Before the 2024-25 season began, the Devils appointed Sheldon Keefe as their new head coach. A busy time was had in the 28 June 2024 NHL Entry Draft with 13 selections being made by the Devils.
They may have lost winger Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz to the Las Vegas Golden Knights but Paul Cotter traveled in the opposite direction.
A good start was made with only the Maple Leafs beating them in their first five matches of the new season. The wins kept coming but it wasn’t until November that they managed to win three successive fixtures. Once they managed to do that, they repeated the feat later in the month.
December produced eight wins for the Devils but it didn’t have the best of endings. They lost to both Carolina and Anaheim with eight goals conceded, though both matches were on the road. 2025 began with a couple more away matches at Los Angeles and San Jose and two more defeats.
As the year began, the Devils were the fifth favorites to win the NHL title. The current favorites are the Edmonton Oilers just ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and Stanley Cup holders Florida Panthers. There are plenty of NHL markets available to place bets on. For example, New Jersey sportsbooks favor a US team to win the Stanley Cup this year and that side to come from the Eastern Conference as per NJbet site.
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With more games having been played than the Capitals, the chances of the Devils winning the Metropolitan Division have been delivered a major blow. January needs to see them get back on a winning run and a home victory over the Bruins is a must.
The January 28 clash will be the first between these two sides in the 2024-25 season. There are two more set for April with a home match on the 8th and a trip to Boston on the 15th.
Last season saw the Devils finish only seventh in the Metropolitan Division, hence that change of head coach that took place and the exit of Lindy Ruff. It certainly wasn’t how they wanted to celebrate their 50th season in the NHL.
To illustrate the improvement that has been shown under their new head coach, you just need to look at their record at the end of December. Last season, the Devils had only won 19 games, 12 months later that total was 24. Two of their three matches against the Bruins were lost but they did get a home over time win over them.
The Boston Bruins are third in the Atlantic Division of the NHL Eastern Conference and sixth overall. Like the Devils, they are expecting to qualify for the Stanley Cup play-offs. They made it into them last season but after a win over Toronto, lost to the eventual champions Florida Panthers
2024-25 is their 100th season of play in the NHL They didn’t get off to the best of starts with only four of their first ten matches being won. Seven wins came in November and nine in December with all six home matches being won.
Like the Devils, they had a less than satisfactory end to 2024 and poor start to the new year with four losses in five matches. New Jersey bookmakers aren’t too optimistic on the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup this year as they are the 15th favorites.
With them struggling on the road, the Devils will definitely be hoping for a win in late January to boost their play-off hopes.
