The 2022-23 Boston Bruins were the best NHL team in history, at least according to the regular season standings. The Bruins set an NHL record for most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season. That meant nothing come playoff time, as they were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers in seven games. 

How well did bettors fare wagering on the Black and Gold at their local retail book or favorite sports betting app throughout the season? 

If you backed the Bruins' NHL odds on the moneyline with $100 in each of the team’s 82 games in the 2022-23 regular season, you would be up a tidy $1,959.25. That is a net profit of 23.89% on a total handle of $8,200. 

Their Game 1 win at -225 against the Panthers adds another $44.44 to that total. Boston won Games 3 and 4 in Florida. Their odds were -225, -146 and -165 in the three playoff games Boston won. Those victories combined for wins of $44.44, $68.49 and $60.61 on betting apps. The four losses subtracted $400 from your total. Thus backing the Bruins in the postseason would have left you $226.46 in the hole.

When retail sports betting launched in Massachusetts on January 31, former Boston Bruins great Ray Bourque backed the Bruins with $100 at +375 to win the 2023 Stanley Cup in a ceremonial “first wager” at MGM Springfield casino. Thousands of others did the same, backing the Bruins to win it all on Massachusetts betting apps. Those tickets are now worthless.

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Boston Bruins Season Betting Recap 

Here is a game-by-game breakdown of the Boston Bruins betting history this season. Each game is listed with the date, opponent, score, the closing moneyline and your net money won (or lost):

(Archived betting lines sourced from Vegas Insider and compiled by Bookies.com data specialist Brett Bodzinski)

The Bruins were moneyline favorites in 74 of their 82 regular-season games. They were the only team in the NHL to lose eight times as a favorite. 

Of the eight games in which Boston was a betting underdog, six were played before November 7. The Bruins have been underdogs just once since online betting began in the Bay State on March 10 on Massachusetts betting sites. They were +124 at Carolina on March 26. A star-depleted lineup upset the host Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout that aired on national TV. The other game this year in which the Bruins were underdogs was on January 29, again at Carolina. Boston lost that game 4-1. 

In contrast, those backing the NHL's worst team in terms of wins would have taken a beating. The San Jose Sharks won just 22 of their 82 games. They finished the year at 22-44-16. Backing them with $100 each game on the moneyline would have left you $3,204.58 in the red. The Sharks won eight times as favorites. But their average price as an underdog in each win was just +154.64, hardly enough to make up for the disparity.  

Bay State Bettors Back Bruins 

The Bruins opened the season at +2500 in NHL futures markets to win the Cup at BetMGM. “Entering the playoffs, the Bruins were the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup and a significant liability. While heartbreaking to fans and those who closely followed their run, Boston losing in the first round was a good outcome for the sportsbook,” BetMGM's Seamus Magee said in a release.

At BetMGM nationwide, 42.7% of the Stanley Cup championship handle and 67.1% of the Eastern Conference championship handle was on the Bruins. They carried the book's largest liability in both markets. At BetMGM Massachusetts, a massive 85% of the book’s futures rode on the Bruins to win the Cup. 

Massachusetts has three retail sportsbooks and six mobile betting apps. WynnBET Massachusetts operates the sportsbook at Encore Boston Harbor, in addition to its online betting app. 

WynnBET’s retail book took $100,000 moneyline bets on each side of the March 9 Bruins-Oilers game. Boston lost 3-2 at TD Garden. It was the first time all season Boston led during the third period but failed to win in regulation. Bruins games account for the top 14 NHL games in terms of handle at WynnBET Sportsbook at Encore Boston Harbor. The B's account for eight of the top 10 most-bet games at WynnBET's online book in Massachusetts.

The book had “seen a ton of interest in the Bruins' chase after history,” a spokesman told Bookies.com. Online betting launched in Massachusetts on March 10. Two of the top three most-bet NHL games in terms of handle online at WynnBET in Massachusetts came in the last week of the regular season. Boston's home game against Toronto on April 6 was the most-bet. Sunday's 5-3 win over Philadelphia, in which Boston set the new NHL single-season record of 63 wins, was third. 

The Bruins were +350 to win the Cup at Boston-based DraftKings before the playoffs. That book took a $21,000 wager on the Bruins to win it all at +380.

Here is a breakdown of the Stanley Cup splits at DraftKings in Massachusetts before the start of the playoffs:

Boston was -275 to win its first-round series at FanDuel Massachusetts before the series began, while Florida was a +220 underdog. Quite the price if you backed the Panthers.

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