Ryan Hodges
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Thursday’s 7-game slate in the NHL is the largest thus far and a great appetizer for the first full weekend of hockey this season. This will be a great bridge to Friday with almost half the league suited up. The first couple of nights of the regular season made the offseason wait worth it. Thursday night should deliver as well. Try to get any obligations out of the way early and enjoy a great night of NHL hockey.
If you’re looking to have some betting action, check out our NHL mega parlay at +928 odds below. You can also read our NHL predictions for picks on every game today.
Stars ML & Over 6.5 (+175)
Panthers vs Wild Over 6.5 (-115)
Golden Knights -1.5 (+100)
NHL mega parlay odds: +928
Dallas Stars ML over St. Louis Blues and Over 6.5 (+175)
Dallas was 2 wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals last season and is expected to compete for the Central Division title in this campaign. As for the Blues, they had a disappointing season and have largely the same roster that got beaten up. The Stars are the more reliable team and will be at home to kick off a season that has a lot of hype. Look for them to come out with some jam and run up the score against a worse team.
The over was prominent in the Blues’ season last year due mostly to their weak goal prevention. They allowed the 6th-most goals per game in the league and, to reiterate, there were no changes to their defense or goaltending year over year. If there is not a correction, the Stars should be able to light up the scoreboard. Dallas will likely be able to do their part in contributing to a high total and it should not take much for St. Louis to contribute themselves.
Find out our best NHL player prop bets for tonight’s games after yesterday’s +140 winner
Florida Panthers vs Minnesota Wild Over 6.5 (-115)
The Panthers are fresh in everyone’s mind from their unlikely and dominant run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Obviously, the dynamic is different from a playoff game to a season opener. But when they were clicking, the Panthers were scoring at a clip their opposition just could not keep up with. In what will be a tough game against another offensively talented team, look for the Panthers to lean on that goalscoring strength.
The Wild, similar to the Stars, are in a window where they can win now but just have not been able to over the hump. This team is anxious to have a strong season and make that elusive deep playoff run. Getting some extra juice from the crowd in their home opener, the Wild will likely come out buzzing. With high-end offensive talent as well, Minnesota can go punch for punch in a high-scoring game. With rust to shake off early in the year on both sides, look for this one to feature plenty of goals.
Check out our Panthers vs Wild predictions for tonight’s matchup
Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 over San Jose Sharks (+100)
The Golden Knights took care of business in a big way on Tuesday in their banner-raising home opener against a good Kraken team. Tonight they get a soft matchup against the Sharks. With all due respect to the Sharks, it is going to be a tough year. They are firmly in their rebuild and look likely to be a bit of a punching bag this season. As long as Vegas does not completely mail it in, they should be able to run up the score just fine on Thursday night.
Unsurprisingly, the Golden Knights have dominated the Sharks in recent seasons. Vegas is 13-3 in the last 16 games played against San Jose. They are also 8-1 in the last 9 played head-to-head in San Jose. Bettors do not need to overthink this one. This is a very good Vegas team and a very bad San Jose team. Getting plus-money odds even for this puck line is strong value.
Lock in our Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks best bet
