- The Rangers and Bruins are both -110 on the moneyline for Tuesday’s opener, with the total at 5.5 to 6.
- Boston went 45-27-10 with a +22 goal differential last season, while the Rangers went 34-39-9 and finished last in their division.
- New York added Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson and Oliver Bjorkstrand, while Boston plays without defenseman Charlie McAvoy for six games.
- Goaltending is level on last season’s numbers, with Igor Shesterkin at .912 and Jeremy Swayman at .908.
BOSTON – The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins are both -110 to win Tuesday night’s season opener at TD Garden, a pick’em price for an Original Six game that starts at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Rangers finished last in the Metropolitan Division with 77 points, 23 behind Boston’s 100, yet the market gives the Bruins no premium for home ice.
Boston Finished 23 Points Clear Of New York
The game is the third of five NHL openers on the legal sports betting board Tuesday. Boston went 45-27-10 last season and outscored opponents 272-250, according to NHL standings. New York went 34-39-9 and was outscored 250-238. Boston went 29-11-1 at TD Garden, while New York went 20-19-2 on the road, a better mark than its 14-20-7 at home.
On that record Boston is the side by a wide margin. The even price says the market is weighing New York’s summer additions and Boston’s missing defenseman against those 82 games of results. At -110, a Boston ticket pays for last season and a Rangers ticket pays for the rebuild.
New York Rebuilt Around Dorofeyev And Two Defensemen
The Rangers’ offseason overhaul starts with forward Pavel Dorofeyev, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on June 26 and signed to a seven-year, $77 million contract four days later. His 37 goals with Vegas would have led the Rangers, ahead of Mika Zibanejad’s 34. Defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson arrived July 1, and forward Oliver Bjorkstrand signed a one-year deal after scoring nine power-play goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Igor Shesterkin posted a 2.50 goals-against average over 51 games, well under the 3.05 the team allowed per game, which puts much of the damage in games he did not play. Backup Jonathan Quick went 6-17-2 with a .891 save percentage before retiring.
Boston Adds Peterka And Loses McAvoy For The Opener
The Bruins acquired forward JJ Peterka, who scored 25 goals last season, from the Utah Mammoth and took defenseman Will Borgen from New York on July 1. McAvoy is out under a six-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety for slashing Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson at the end of Game 6 of Boston’s first-round loss on May 1.
Jeremy Swayman, a Vezina Trophy finalist, went 31-18-4 with a .908 save percentage in 55 games. Shesterkin’s .912 is a .004 edge, too small to hand either team an advantage in net.
Both Sides Sit At -110 With The Total Near 6
Moneyline
- Side
- New York Rangers
- Odds
- -110
- Implies
- 52.4%
Moneyline
- Side
- Boston Bruins
- Odds
- -110
- Implies
- 52.4%
Puck line
- Side
- Rangers +1.5
- Odds
- -280
- Implies
- 73.7%
Puck line
- Side
- Bruins -1.5
- Odds
- +230
- Implies
- 30.3%
Total 5.5
- Side
- Over
- Odds
- -130
- Implies
- 56.5%
Total 5.5
- Side
- Under
- Odds
- +113
- Implies
- 46.9%
Total 6
- Side
- Over
- Odds
- +100
- Implies
- 50.0%
Total 6
- Side
- Under
- Odds
- -120
- Implies
- 54.5%
The table reads as a market call that the summer moves and McAvoy’s absence cancel out the gap, making it the tightest line in the 5-game NHL season opener. Taking the Rangers with a goal of cushion at -280 risks 2.8 units to win 1, so a Rangers view is cheaper at -110 on the moneyline unless the view is that New York loses by one.
Rangers games averaged 5.95 total goals last season and Boston games 6.37, so the 5.5-to-6 range brackets New York’s average and sits below Boston’s. The market leans over at 5.5, and McAvoy’s absence is a lineup fact that pushes toward scoring rather than away from it.
Neither club sits near the top of the futures board at legal Stanley Cup sportsbooks, where Florida is the +650 favorite.
