The NHL season starts Wednesday night with five exciting matchups, including three that will feature all-Canadian matchups. The Winnipeg Jets will take on the reigning Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers, while the Canucks look to build on last year’s strong performance against the Flames.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs aim to reignite their rivalry with the Canadiens in their 769th all-time meeting. South of the border, fans can look forward to thrilling matchups as the Penguins host the Rangers and the Avalanche face off against their new rivals, the Vegas Golden Knights.
We started off the season on the right note with a perfect 3-0 record highlighted by a goal from Boston’s Pavel Zacha, who extended his site record to a perfect 5-0 when picking him for our Best Bets. We hope to replicate the success and continue our strong start to the new season.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Canadiens Under 2.5 goals (+120)
The Canadiens have a young team and will surely look to come out of the gates red hot with a win over their longtime rival. Toronto has recorded five straight wins over Montreal and the biggest contributing factor is their team defence. Montreal has scored more than two goals in just three of their last eight matchups versus Toronto.
The Maple Leafs’ goaltending issues look to be seemingly resolved for now as they signed the best backup goalie available with Stanley Cup Champion Anthony Stolarz, who will backup the hopeful franchise goaltender in Joseph Woll. Toronto’s starting netminder has just one career start against the Habs in which he dominated for 29 saves on 30 shots for a resounding 5-1 win.
The 26-year-old Missouri native has struggled to stay healthy during his short NHL career but has shown to be a difference maker when playing. Woll has a 2.69 goal against average over his last 14 appearances with his only blowup games being against prolific offences like the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. He should have a standout performance in the season opener.
Bet: Evgeni Malkin Under 0.5 points (+120)
The legendary Russian centre finished last season on a strong note with 11 points through his final nine games but is entering this season at 38 years old. Malkin wrapped up last season with only 67 points, marking his lowest points-per-game average (0.82) of his career, despite playing in every game. His age may finally be starting to show and it also doesn’t help that he is going against a Rangers team that he hasn’t recorded a point against in five straight matchups. New York is a defensively savvy team that finished with seventh-best team goals against average (2.76) last season.
The Penguins are very much a question mark on the offensive end entering this season and Malkin will begin to suffer due to his weaker team around him. His scoring numbers were solid, finishing with 27 goals last season—consistent with the previous year. However, he experienced a sharp decline in assists, dropping from 56 to 40 year over year. As Malkin ages, the supporting cast around him isn’t enough to help him consistently rack up points and makes his under look like the best bet.
Bet: Canucks -1.5 (+125)
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted on his recent episode of his “32 Thoughts” podcast that the Flames organization are entering this season with a realistic mindset that they likely won’t make the playoffs but have other goals in mind. They will enter the season with that mindset and go against a Canucks team that went to game seven with the Edmonton Oilers and was very close to cutting off their run to the Stanley Cup final in the second round.
Vancouver enters this season with a very deep offence and could become a trendy pick to win the Stanley Cup. Friedman added later on in his podcast that this Canucks team could very well do it, which makes this betting line perplexing considering the aspirations for both teams this season.
Any team can win on any given night but the Canucks have won four of their last five matchups versus the Flames with their previous two wins both being decided by two or more goals. Vancouver was also one of the best teams in the league against the puck line last season with a 51-43 record and a 17-9 record for our Best Bets. They should open their season with a decisive win at home and remind hockey fans how dominant of a team they are.
Related: Click here to check out more offseason stories on future bets before it’s too late and odds change.
