After a tumultuous season, the New Jersey Devils (42-36-3, 7th Metropolitan) will face the Boston Bruins (44-27-10, 4th Atlantic) in their final game of the 2025-26 season at TD Garden Tuesday tonight.
Overview
The Devils won’t be seeing playoff action this year, but a late surge means they’ll finish with a respectable record, even if they’re doomed to the basement of the Metropolitan. Coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the Senators, the Devils are looking for a third straight win to go into the offseason on a high note. They’ve shut down some key pieces and will surely give others a light workload, but the Devils would love to have one final win to round out the season.
The Bruins, on the other hand, have their playoff spot locked up. The only question is, who will they play? The Devils’ win over the Senators means that Boston has leapfrogged them for the top wildcard spot. Coming off a 3-2 win over Washington, the Bruins will be looking to ride a hot streak into the playoffs, no matter who they’ll face in the first round.
The Devils beat the Bruins 4-3 in their last meeting on March 16.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Bratt-Hughes-Brown
?-Glass-Bjugstad
Cotter-McLaughlin-Halonen
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillion-Nemec
Villen-Kovacevic
Goalies
Allen
Daws
Bruins-
Forwards
Geekie-Lindholm-Pastrnak
Reichel-Mittlestadt-Eyssimont
Hagens-Minten-Khusnutdinov
Steeves-Kuraly-Kastelic
Defense
Aspirot-Harris
Peeke-Lohrei
Zadorov-Jokiharu
Goalies
Swayman
Korpisalo
Keys to the Game
Lottery Odds
While the Devils won’t be competing for the Stanley Cup this year, there is something on the line tonight. Their draft position is still to be determined, and they can either improve or lower their odds for a higher draft pick depending on tonight’s result. The NHL draft operates with a lottery system that draws from the 16 teams left out of the postseason. The lower a team finishes in the standings, the better their odds for the top draft picks.
Right now, the Devils have the 11th-best odds in the draft lottery, though that can easily change, especially with the mess in the Pacific Division race. A top-11 slot would ensure the team has a shot at the No. 1 overall pick. If they fall to 12, the best they can do is the No. 2 pick.
Playoff Permutations for Boston
Boston will be watching the scoreboard for the opposite reason Tuesday. They’ll face one of the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, or Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. If they lose against New Jersey and Ottawa gets a point in their game against the Maple Leafs, they’ll play the Hurricanes. If they win Tuesday or Ottawa loses in regulation, they’ll face either Montreal or Buffalo. In that scenario, they’d face Buffalo if they win one of their last two games, or Montreal if they win their final game against the Flyers and Buffalo gains fewer than three points from their final two games.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG at 7:00 pm ET.