The puck drops on a new NHL season and chase for the Stanley Cup tonight with a five game slate to start the year that will feature 84 games per team for the first time, let’s start with some winners!
https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd4qEh-pitP
Hurricanes vs. Panthers (5:00)
We start this season with the Stanley Cup Champion Hurricanes raising their first Cup banner since 2006 before taking on the winners of the last two Stanley Cups prior to them, in what I pretty much expect to be a night one preview of this season’s Eastern Conference Finals. Last year after winning back to back, the Panthers had a ton of injuries that kept them out of the playoffs. They’re fully healthy again and I expect them to once again be a Cup contender this year. I’d slightly lean Carolina wins at home tonight as they raise their banner and I’d lean the under, but those are both so close to coin flips for me on opening night, that I’ll lay off it.
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens (7:00)
Interesting Canadian matchup in the Atlantic. The Leafs were horrendous last year, but made quite a bit of changes in the offseason, including selecting Gavin McKenna as the first overall pick. The Habs were very good, on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they ran into the buzzsaw of the Hurricanes. I like Montreal to open the season with a win on the road here tonight against their Original Six rivals, and I’ll take them for half a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it.
Bruins vs. Rangers (8:00)
This should be another decent Original Six game on opening night. I expected the Bruins to be horrendous last year, but they shocked me and a lot of other people, making the playoffs as the first Wild Card in the East, and taking my Buffalo Sabres to Game 7 before being eliminated in the first round. I’d expect them to get a bit better this season and likely competing for a Wild Card spot, but not coming in the Top 3 in the Atlantic. The Rangers were brutal last season, and I’m sort of expecting them to be bad again this year. I like Boston to win tonight and I’ll take them for half a unit at home. I’d lean the under, but not enough to bet it.
Oilers vs. Canucks (10:00)
Brutal matchup out West for opening night. The Oilers were a disappointment last season, losing in six games in the first round to the young Anaheim Ducks, after their two straight losing trips to the Cup Finals. I still don’t think Edmonton’s winning a Cup, but when you have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, you’ll always be competing for one. The Canucks were far and away the worst team in the NHL last year, and I don’t see that changing much. It’s going to be another horrible rebuilding year up in Vancouver. This should be an easy win for Edmonton at home to I originally considered parlaying the ML with McDavid and Draisaitl to each get points, but those were so expensive that I’ll just take the Oilers to win in regulation for a unit. I’d lean the over, but not enough to bet it on opening night.
Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks (10:30)
Another huge mismatch in the West to close out the night. Vegas had their ups and downs last year, benefitting from being in the weak Pacific Division but under interim coach John Tortorella made their third Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their nine year history. Impressive. They came up short against the Canes, but this is still a very good team, now under new head coach Ryan Craig, the former head coach of their AHL team. The Blackhawks were terrible last year, and I don’t expect much to improve there, with their biggest offseason addition being to just bring back Patty Kane. This isn’t 2012 anymore, so I don’t really see a huge impact there. Vegas should win pretty easily tonight at home in the Fortress and I’ll take them in regulation for a unit. At only 5.5, I like the over as well, which I’ll take for half a unit. I considered point props on Eichel, Marner, and Stone, but I lost a lot on those parlays last year, so I’ll be mainly staying off them early in the year.
Bets
.5u Canadiens ML (+109)
.5u Bruins ML (-106)
1u Oilers in regulation (-190)
1u Golden Knights in regulation (-140)
.5u Golden Knights/Blackhawks over 5.5 (-142)
Regular Season Record: 0-0 (0 units)
Please follow me:
Instagram: @atownszone
Twitter: @atownszone
If you like the site and my work, share it with your friends!
… and tell Dave Portnoy to hire me at Barstool…
