Ryan Hodges
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Opening Night in the NHL is finally here! Fans will be treated to a 3-game slate which is a great, digestible way to jump into the regular season before a busier schedule as the week progresses. The Predators and Lightning kick off the season, followed by Connor Bedard’s Blackhawks visiting Sidney Crosby’s Penguins, finally followed by the Kraken visiting the banner-raising Golden Knights. The wait is finally over and fans are in store for a heck of an Opening Night!
If you’re looking to have some betting action, check out our NHL mega parlay at +747 odds below. You can also read our NHL predictions for picks on every game today.
Penguins -1.5 & Over 6.5 (+250)
Golden Knights -1.5 (+142)
NHL mega parlay odds: +747
Pittsburgh Penguins -1.5 over Chicago Blackhawks & Over 6.5 (+250)
This game is a great one for stories and headlines around Connor Bedard. More specifically around Bedard vs Sidney Crosby and the parallels between their ascent into superstardom. But there is still a game to play. These 2 points look great for Pittsburgh to collect. The Penguins missed the playoffs by just a point last season and then added the reigning Norris Trophy winner among other key additions. They are the better team with the deeper roster. Bedard excitement aside, the Blackhawks are still in rebuild mode. Crosby and the Penguins have a great chance to run up the score in their home and season opener on national television.
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin showed last year that they still have plenty of gas left in the tank as they had 93 and 83 points respectively. Jake Guentzel, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang all continue to produce year after year as well. In the offseason, Pittsburgh added Erik Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, and Ryan Graves. The Penguins look to have gotten a lot better and have plenty of depth scoring. They will do their part in taking the game over the total. Fresh legs and opening night adrenaline should give the Bedard and the Blackhawks a push for generating some offense as well. These teams may also be working through some kinks this time of year which can lead to sloppy play. The over has plenty of appeal in this one.
Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 over Seattle Kraken (+142)
A banner raising night always brings an exciting element to a game that already has a buzz in the air due to being opening night. The Golden Knights will have their work cut out for them as the Kraken are a good team looking to validate their great season last year. Seattle would love nothing more than to come in and spoil the party. Problem is, the Golden Knights just look that good. They steamrolled their way through the playoffs to the Stanley Cup championship just this June. This year’s Vegas team is largely in tact from the edition of them that hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup just this summer.
This team can smother their opponent as well as any team in hockey. Granted, this is only the first game and we have not seen the majority of teams yet. But based on the playoffs and their current, similar roster, we can safely assume the Golden Knights are still going to be a deep team that plays a heavy game. The primary ingredient to success will be the juice they will get from being at home on opening night on national TV and having raised their Stanley Cup banner before the game. Those factors supplementing an already deep team is a great recipe for a big win. A +142 number is great value for the Golden Knights to pick up right where they left off 4 months ago.
Check out our player award futures and full analysis of Tuesday’s slate.
