The Boston Bruins are 15-12-3 and currently sit sixth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference standings. The Bruins’ recent 7-3-0 run has Bruins fans salivating over the possibility of Boston winning the 2024-2025 Stanley Cup. To do that, of course, they must first make the postseason. Read on as I take a closer look at the NHL odds to see if Boston is a good bet to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Current Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoff Odds
A lot would have to go wrong for the Boston Bruins not to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite the mediocre goaltending, Boston is five points behind the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division table. With a little luck and a hotter goalie, he could win the Atlantic.
Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman missed training camp, and his results have been less than desirable. His above-expected goals-against average is the worst in the NHL (-11.1), and he gave up eight goals Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
Despite that, and some lazy blue line play, the Bruins still win games because David Pasternak and Brad Marchand can light the lamp with the best of them. The duo has combined for 22 goals and 51 points, but the Bruins need more than those two and also need to get more production from special teams.
Center Pavel Zacha and Justin Brazeau are finding the back of the net, while Charlie Coyle has registered three power-play goals. The production is there, they just need to be more consistent. Top prospect Matthew Poitras is tearing up the AHL and could provide a spark if the Bruins recall the 20-year-old Ajax, Canadian native.
Boston has a tough schedule: According to Tankathon, the Bruins have 11 games against tough opponents. The good news is that they also face 10 “easy” opponents, including four games with the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins would need a catastrophe of major proportions to miss the playoffs. I’d put $146 to win $100 for the Bruins to make the NHL playoffs.
Boston Bruins Eastern Conference Win Odds
The Bruins’ odds of winning the Eastern Conference have increased greatly since the start of the season, and with good reason. Despite the mediocre blue line and goaltending, the Bruins have managed to win 15 of 31 games.
Goaltending is largely responsible for Boston’s three losses, but Swayman is much better than his slow start suggests, and they’ll need great goaltending to win the East. An encouraging sign for Boston has been the power play. The Bruins have the worst power-play success rate in the NHL, but have improved by a power-play goal in each of their last two games.
Betting on the Bruins to win the East would be profitable but unwise. Too many things would have to go wrong for Boston to win the East. I’d have to see better goaltending from Swayman and continued success on the power play before betting on Boston to win the NHL’s Eastern Conference.