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The New Jersey Devils visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at Canadian Tire Centre, with a 7:00 PM start on ESPN+. New Jersey comes in 28-24-2, Ottawa is 25-21-7, and both are basically stuck in the same conversation: win now, or the math gets ugly fast before the Olympic break.
This one has a weird feel because Ottawa is finally getting functional goaltending again, but it’s coming from a veteran stopgap. James Reimer is expected to start again, and the Senators have quietly looked more settled since he arrived. On the other side, New Jersey is dealing with uncertainty around Jack Hughes, and that matters because the Devils’ offense has been inconsistent even when healthy. It’s a matchup between a team that generates looks and a team that’s starting to defend like it actually cares.
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New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor the latest movement and updated lines on the latest NHL odds page.
| Team | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Devils | +130 | TBD | TBD |
| Ottawa Senators | -155 | TBD | TBD |
New Jersey Devils Betting Form
New Jersey is still a shot-volume team most nights, and that gives them a floor as a road dog. They can create offense at five-on-five, and Dougie Hamilton driving play from the back end has been a real engine lately. When he’s involved early, the Devils’ whole attack looks less predictable, more layered. That’s when you see the puck move side to side instead of everything turning into point shots and hope.
The issue is finishing and lineup stability. If Jack Hughes can’t go, it changes the way New Jersey creates clean entries and it changes their power-play ceiling. Even if he plays, you’re probably getting some level of limitation. Cody Glass has also been banged up, and the Devils aren’t exactly deep enough to absorb multiple center issues without it showing up in their forecheck and their back pressure. If you want a clean snapshot of form and results, the New Jersey Devils stats and results page is the quickest way to track what’s translating and what’s not.
Availability matters here, so monitor the New Jersey Devils injury report before puck drop.
Ottawa Senators Betting Form
Ottawa’s season has felt like it’s been played in waves, but right now they’re in one of the better ones. The Senators have had back-to-back strong performances, and the biggest change is they aren’t playing like every defensive-zone touch is a fire drill. Reimer isn’t asked to be a superhero. He just has to be steady, and honestly, that’s been enough to make Ottawa look like a different team.
The Senators can still get loose, though. They play aggressive, they can get pulled into trades, and that’s where totals can get interesting depending on who starts for New Jersey. Ottawa’s top guys can beat you off the rush, but I think their best path here is simpler: keep the game structured early, win the special teams margin, and make New Jersey play the whole 200 feet. If you’re tracking the home splits and how Ottawa’s profile changes in this building, the Ottawa Senators schedule and stats page lays it out cleanly.
Ottawa’s lineup is also worth checking because their forward depth has been in flux lately. Monitor the Ottawa Senators injury report before puck drop.
New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators Matchup Breakdown
The handicap starts with one question: what does New Jersey look like down the middle if Hughes is out or limited? Ottawa isn’t a defensive fortress, but they’re physical and they can make life miserable if they’re winning puck battles and forcing dump-ins. If the Devils can’t carry the puck with speed, this turns into a lot of perimeter time and a lot of “nice shift, no damage.”
The second piece is goaltending confidence. Reimer has stabilized Ottawa, but you still have to respect the volatility that comes with a veteran who’s been bouncing around the league. If he’s sharp, Ottawa’s -155 makes sense. If he’s average, New Jersey at +130 gets live quickly because the Devils will shoot enough to create second chances. For New Jersey, Jacob Markstrom is the likely starter, but that’s still something I’d treat as unconfirmed until closer to puck drop.
Special teams could decide it. Ottawa’s power play can tilt games when it’s clicking, and New Jersey’s penalty kill can get stretched when their forwards aren’t winning clears. If you want a deeper framework for how to price special teams, goalie variance, and schedule spots like this, the NHL betting guide is useful, and it’s also the time of year where Stanley Cup futures and team direction starts bleeding into nightly effort levels. That context is covered well in the NHL betting guide and the Stanley Cup betting breakdown.
NHL Lines Before the Puck Drops
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New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators Predictions and Best Bets
I lean Ottawa on the moneyline (-155), and it’s mostly a trust bet. Ottawa is playing cleaner hockey right now, and Reimer has given them enough saves to let the skaters play forward instead of playing scared. When Ottawa is even moderately composed, they’re annoying to play against because they don’t need perfect shifts to generate chances.
That said, the price is not cheap, and I don’t love laying -155 against a Devils team that can generate 30-plus shots without needing much help. If Hughes is confirmed in and looks normal, I think the value shifts toward New Jersey, or at least toward the Devils puck line if it’s available at a reasonable number. If Hughes is out, the -155 feels much more acceptable because New Jersey’s offense can go stale for long stretches.
On the total, I lean Under if the market sits in the usual 6.0 to 6.5 range, mainly because Ottawa has been tighter defensively and New Jersey’s scoring has been uneven. This feels like a game where both coaches would happily take a boring 2-1 script into the third. Of course, if special teams gets noisy early, that goes out the window fast.
Best Bet: Ottawa Senators moneyline (-155).
NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
If you’re betting NHL consistently, it’s rarely about having one opinion. It’s about comparing prices, timing the market, and seeing where sharper bettors agree or disagree. The today’s NHL picks page is a good starting point because it gives you volume across the slate without forcing you into one style of betting.
From there, it helps to track who’s actually delivering over time. The top sports handicappers page makes it easy to compare experts, and the handicapper leaderboard keeps the results transparent. If you want more concentrated positions and higher volume around the strongest edges, buy expert picks is where the premium NHL card lives. And if you’re building a nightly routine around matchup reads, the NHL previews hub is a clean way to keep everything in one place.
