OTT Senators vs NJ Devils Prediction: The Devils will be closer to success

Prediction for the NHL match which will take place on April 7. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

For Ottawa, the current regular season has not turned out well. A year earlier, the Senators performed quite well, so there was hope for their further progress and a fight for cup spots, but in reality we saw nothing of the sort. For this reason, D.J. Smith was retired during the season, and now Jacques Martin is trying to bring the team to a new level. The final stretch of the regular season his wards are playing at a decent level: in the last five March games they won five times. They failed to keep the pace in April, losing to Minnesota and Florida - 2:3 and 0:6, respectively, and they remain in 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

You could expect a lot from New Jersey this season, too. A year ago, the Devils finally made it to the playoffs, where they made a lot of noise, and they have a very young team, so they should have been expected to continue to progress and fight for the top spots. Alas, we saw nothing of the sort. Throughout the regular season, they showed mediocre results, which led to the resignation of Lindy Ruff. Travis Green took the vacant spot, under whom the Redblacks picked up a bit, but in the last three games they lost to Buffalo - 2:5, Pittsburgh - 3:6, and the Rangers - 3:4, because of which they slipped to 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Ottawa and New Jersey have no tournament motivation at the end of the regular season. The Senators have long ago had no realistic chance of making the playoffs, while the Devils have only arithmetic chances. Both teams have recently rebounded and had a good stretch, but in April they started losing again. At the same time, they can still be considered the favorites of the upcoming confrontation, as the statistics of head-to-head meetings are in their favor: they have won four of the last five meetings. 

Ottawa and New Jersey have not been shy to produce bright and productive head-to-head meetings lately. In the previous six head-to-head meetings, the rivals have combined for 45 goals (7.50 per game on average). It's unlikely that the Senators and Devils can do anything to prevent another goal-rich head-to-head battle, as they no longer have tournament motivation, and therefore no pressure for results, which allows them to play at their own pleasure.