What a great opening night! The NHL rolls on today with a six-game slate but features no real marquee matchups.
Game Previews:
Boston Bruins @ Washington Capitals
- The Bruins come into this season with a depleted roster. They’ll be without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk tonight. Despite missing a few key pieces, the Bruins still have a deep team with some great goaltending. The Capitals also dealing with injury issues of their own. Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and Carl Hagelin are all out for tonight’s matchup. In net, Darcy Kuemper will make his debut as a member of the Washington Capitals.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens
- The Leafs open up the season against a division rival. They’ve made a few changes during the off-season but mainly their goaltending. Toronto brought in Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov as replacements for Jack Campbell. Martin St. Louis will have his first full season as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Last year, he was able to provide some confidence for their young stars. Overall it’s a rebuilding year for the Habs as they look to fully evaluate all the talent they have on their roster.
Chicago Blackhawks @ Colorado Avalanche
- The Av’s open their season against arguably the worst team in the NHL. Unless they have a severe Stanley Cup hangover, they should dominie Chicago tonight.
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Carolina Hurricanes
- The Blue Jackets made one of the biggest offseason moves landing Johnny Gaudreau. While this team did add an elite player maker, they still have a sub-par defensive unit. The Canes added a few pieces as well including veteran defenseman Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty. Carolina has built a roster that’s ready to make a push for the Stanley Cup while the Blue Jackets still have a few pieces to go.
Official Picks:
- Boston Bruins/ Washington Capitals Under 6.0 (+100) – Caesars/ BetMGM
- Risk 0.50 to win 0.50 Units
I think we see a low-scoring affair between these depleted rosters. The Bruins are going with Swayman while the Capitals will have Kuemper in net. Both of these goaltenders were great last year ranking inside the top 23 in Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx). Taylor Hall and T.J Oshie are also both game-time decisions that could limit each team’s offensive production. Last year, the Bruins and Capitals both ranked inside the top 13 in goals against. While two of their three meetings last year did go over, I believe it’s a different story tonight.
Leans:
- Colorado Avalanche 1P -0.5 (-105) – PointsBet/ Caesars
- Risk 0.26 to win 0.25 Units
- Seattle Kraken (+108) – Barstool
- Risk 0.25 to win 0.27 Units
Player Props to Target:
- Mitchell Marner over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-135) – DraftKings
- He went over this number in all four of their matchups against the Canadiens last season. Montreal also allowed the 28th most shots on goal to right-wingers last year.
- Connor McDavid over 3.5 Shots on Goal (-155) – DraftKings
- He went over this number in two of their three matchups against the Canucks last season. Vancouver also allowed the 25th most shots on goal to Centers last year.
- Patrick Laine over 0.5 Points (-155) – DraftKings
- He went over this number in two of their four matchups against the Hurricanes last season. With the addition of Johnny Gaudreau on his line, they should be able to create even more scoring opportunities. Laine is also on their top Power Play which should have several opportunities tonight as Carolina had the 10th most penalty minutes as a team last year.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
