are people seriously laying -170 on the devils again?

I would take the over before I lay that kind of juice with the devils. I think they win, just a heavy risk for that price,,,,,,,,,

GL,,,,,,,,

Value is in the eyes if of the sportsbooks.  If you don't open the Devils as big favorites they would get inundated with Florida money.  The price is not always indicative of how much a team is actually better than the other but on what is needed to balance the action.

With that said, The Devils are the better team ... although not that much butter for me to warrant laying this type of juice on.

No, there's no bluffing going on.  It's simply book squaring and putting up a line that attracts equal double sided action. It's not a matter of being paranoid or confident in my analysis ... it's a matter of math ... do you know what your winning percentage has to be to make money consistently betting -170 favorites?   At the end of the day, THAT is what it boils down to for me.  I maintain that the Devils are the better team ... I don't begrudge anyone for betting them at -170 but I won't.  

And I don't think that -170 is good value for this game.  That said, it doesn't automatically put me on the Panthers because I still think the Devils are the better team and for me, any Panther price won't matter.  I would have taken the Devils at anything under -140 but not going to lay down a dollar seventy to make 1 back.  Those are my own rules that have served me well over the years ... no matter how much I think one team is better than the other.

I don't bet big chalk ... never have, never will.  Sorry. I'll leave the juice laying for others.   There are too many games on a given night to sweat one big favorite.

Ludicrous or not, the Devils were and are in the NHL's strongest division by far, so your theory doesn't hold a lot of strength at all. Devils are the better all around team without question.