Rangers vs Sabres
My Rangers team breakdown on why they won’t be a Cup team this year can be found here, but they are a team I am high on. Buffalo will be the team that disappoints everyone and a team we will strategically continue to bet on and against. Tonight is a night I expect the Rangers to dominate. Peter Laviolette is a no-bullshit coach and he’s made clear in the preseason that if you don’t perform, you won’t play. It’s opening night and the Rangers need a win. The Rangers are coming off two horrific playoff losses being up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals and losing, and being up 2-0 on the Devils last year and losing. The Rangers can’t afford to screw around and waste time with Carolina and New Jersey being powerhouses in front of them. Buffalo has star power and watching Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson will be exciting for us when we’re on their over. They lack depth up front and securing a playoff berth will be difficult with how good the Metro Division is, and Toronto, Boston, and Florida ahead of them. Devon Levi is a highly touted prospect for the Sabres in net, but he’s not ready to take the lead. Buffalo also hasn’t had any true elite goaltender in front of him to grow from last year. Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are their star defenseman, but they are still young. The Rangers come in at a -130 favorite tonight but should be more around -170 and we should not be able to get their team total at 3 instead of 3.5.
Flyers vs Blue Jackets
The Flyers and Blue Jackets are on opposite sides of the spectrum this year. I laid out my expectations for the Flyers season here and how they are in a complete rebuild. You can read why I think Columbus will be a bubble team here. Even without being high on either team, this is a matchup I love and a matchup I have been very profitable on over the past few years. These two teams play in typically higher-scoring games and relatively close games. My concern is always Carter Hart’s ability to play lights out, but I do not expect that tonight in the opener. If Columbus’s top line can stay healthy, the Blue Jackets should run away with tonight’s game. The Jackets have been testing out Patrick Laine playing center with Adam Fantilli on the line, so it will be interesting to see what pairings Vincent goes with come game time. Since the Spittin’ Chicklet’s pod came out, Columbus has been dealing with the backlash of Mike Babcock’s coaching ethics, relieving him of his position a few weeks before the season started. Tortorella will be behind the bench for the Flyers going against his former team. I’m surprised the books are on par with the over opening at 6.5, but it’s right. We will be laying the juice here tonight because we can still get the total at 5.5 on the alt line.
Detroit vs New Jersey
This should be a complete mismatch tonight and you can read what I think about the Devils this season here. Up front, the Red Wings have a good lineup and can score. What I don’t like about this offense is the lack of winning maturity outside of David Perron. Alex Debrincat has been around a lot already and has received a lot of backlash about being a cancer in the locker room. While he is someone we would love to have on our teams as an offensive threat, I don’t see this Detroit lineup being able to be a cohesive unit to push for the playoffs. Defensively, outside of Moritz Seider, they are weak, and with Ville Husso in net, they’ll get a mediocre boost to help keep them in games, but he will not carry the Wings. The lines on this game will make it difficult to play it safely, but we will find a way to be on the Devils tonight.
St. Louis vs Dallas
This should be two very different seasons for these two teams. St. Louis has their cup win and it will be a while before they get anywhere near a deep playoff run again. Jordan Binnington is falling apart mentally and this may be his last season as the #1 goaltender for the Blues. They don’t have much behind him if it is. Dallas is a team we are on to win the cup this year. In my opinion, they are a coach away from winning the Cup. Pete Debour has never won anything in his life, and if he does this year, it will be because of his team and not because of him. Please make sure you have your cup futures in for the Stars, and the President’s Trophy winner prop for them. Jake Oettinger to win the Vezina is a play worth playing as well. I love this Dallas team and the addition of Matt Duchene. They should compete and have a high chance to win the division. I worry that being home for opening night against a division rival can be one of the trap games on the night, but we will be on them somehow. This is going to be a very good season for the Stars, and a game I would see them winning in 5-2 / 6-2 / 4-1 fashion tonight.
Florida vs Minnesota
Both teams should make the playoffs this year, but I like Florida more in this matchup. The Huberdeau/Weegar trade left a bad taste in my mouth after being on the Florida franchise for the past few years. I do not feel that their Cup appearance was a statement or is indicative of who they are as a team. Teams get hot in the playoffs, and when you get the goaltending performance that Bobrovsky gave them last year in the second and third rounds, any team can advance to the cup. I told you all that Alex Lyon would not last as their number 1, especially against Boston and I was right. This year, I do expect the Panthers to be a better regular-season team than they were a year ago. The Atlantic division is also weaker than it was last year giving them a better path to the third spot in that division. Tkachuk is a stud player, and I was wrong about the impact he would have offensively and in the locker room. With a year under their belt as a team, I expect Florida to be more of a threat than they were last year. I am surprised that Florida is opening as the dog tonight but that should benefit us on the betting side. Although they are a slight dog, the matchup puts getting a 2.5 TT in our favor, albeit very juiced like the Canucks line I wanted last night. Minnesota is a team we relied on heavily last year and burned us heavily last year. I will not be touching the flame again in terms of supporting them. This is a good spot for us to get on board against them, and pick our spots going forward. There should be a decent amount of goals in this game tonight, and 5.5 at -165 is a way to get on board for both teams. The Wild are a team that will grind, and watching them can be frustrating when we have money riding on it. We will assess them as a team as each game passes and pick and choose when to pounce.
Seattle vs Nashville
You can read my thoughts on the Kraken as a regular-season team in my opening night breakdown. Tonight is a night we are going to ride Seattle into a win. I expressed my opinions on the Predators in that opening breakdown as well, and if Seattle can contain Ryan O’Reilly, Nashville is in for a long night. Seattle is the more-rounded team and should be more fired upcoming off a rough loss to Vegas in their opening game. This is a game where I may ladder the Kraken team total and expect a 4-5 goal output from them.
