Expert Picks
Buffalo is in the second of a back-to-back. ...
Calgary and Anaheim conclude their home-and-home series...
We're headed back to a familiar well on a Tuesday frozen frenzy puck drop. ...
Yeah, gotta play a little something at this great +1.5 price on a home squad even if the Flyers look truly horrendous so far. Goalie Joseph Woll has been solid enough with a 2.61 GAA and .927 SV. It's already Carolina's final trip to Philly this season as the clubs played there on Oct. 3 and the Canes won 3-2 in OT. That same result is completely fine tonight. As defending Stanley Cup champion, Carolina is going to get every opposing team's best effort especially on the road. Model has the Canes 3.3-2.5.
I was waiting for this line to drop. Utah is -108 early, but I expect that number to rise over the next 24 hours. The Mammoth are at the end of a long road trip and got blasted by Boston 6-1 on Thursday. However, backup goaltender Sebastian Cossa started that game and gave up three goals on eight shots before being pulled. Starter Karel Vejmelka is expected back in goal on Saturday, and it's a good matchup for the Mammoth because Buffalo plays a faster, wide-open game. I give Utah the edge in almost every key category and expect them to bounce back with a win to close out the road trip.
Pushing our deadline but there's a reason: In a major surprise the Predators are starting not even their backup but third-stringer Matt Murray in net. That's it.
Do you remember Godfather, Part III? "Every time I am out, they pull me back in!" Zero interest here but then an outlier 6.5 popped. Two meh offenses and both are missing top-six forwards. Neither goalie has been particularly good yet, but I'm fine with the chances. Half.
Utah may have lost 6-1 to the Boston Bruins last time out, but that was a true disaster class in goaltending that doomed them from the start. This Mammoth team takes money nearly every game in the market, and rightfully so, given the overall talent upgrade. Meanwhile, I think last year was a bit of a mirage for Buffalo, and water eventually meets its level in 2026. We saw them shut down by the Stars on Thursday, and the underlying metrics suggested the final was somewhat indicative of how the game should have gone. My true number here is Utah -116, so taking +100 is a straightforward click
So I want to be clear about something after Seattle's 6-3 win on Friday in Motown: I am presuming goalies usually. And the Kraken played their backup out of nowhere (not in a B2B). I do this for a living so I'm usually pretty on top of that kinda stuff but yep lost that one. Wouldn't have played knowing. I have always seriously wondered what it might be like to be the betting son of a professional head coach. Hey Dad, is X playing tonight? Is that insider trading? Would he tell me? Florida is the last team to play its home opener, and that's something I always like to bet. Pretty much it as the Wild are very good. Might see again in June.
Sorry about the lateness here, but it's simply not a playable game without knowing Macklin Celebrini's status. The NHL really needs to be better at this, set a hard 60-minute window for final injury status but we have to wait as things are to see who is out for pregame skates. Celebrini is out there so ....
OK, well, this is assuming both No. 1 goalies are in. Got massacred on Thursday when the Mammoth decided to have some fun and basically lie and play a backup I barely heard of. This is why I never go to Utah. I am pretty confident we get both No. 1s here in Joey Daccord and John Gibson. Two meh offenses. In the NHL, always wait for goalie confirmation. Got that sweet reminder ....
I like both teams this year, but I think it's a good spot to back the Blues coming off two losses. This is St. Louis' home opener after playing its first three games on the road. The Sharks are 2-0 at home, but we bet against them at Dallas on Monday, and they got drilled 5-0 in their first road game. Veteran Alex Nedeljkovic is making his season debut in net for San Jose after recovering from an illness. The Blues counter with Joel Hofer, who has stopped 42 of 44 shots in two starts. I'll back St. Louis at home for a half unit.
This feels a good 25 cents low for Thursday so I'll grab it now with No. 1 Ilya Sorokin already confirmed in net for the Islanders. The Russian has been spectacular in allowing just two goals on 63 shots so far. The Hawks won't be very good with Connor Bedard and he's still out. And so is another top-six forward in Teuvo Teravainen (2A). Chicago is 0-3 away, outscored 15-5, and this is a one-game trip that players hate. You are probably fine with the 60-minute line to bring this down or -1. I'm going to up the wager to 1.5 units at this number.
I like a fair amount of NHL tonight. Always prefer teams in their home opener and the Sens finally play theirs. No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark has been confirmed off a minor issue and he has been lights out at 2-0 with a 1.20 GAA and .949 SV. The Flyers are winless in four and starting backup Joseph Woll, who has allowed three goals in both outings. Philadelphia has been outshot an by an incredible 82 shots on goal. That's second-worst in league history through four games. I wouldn't play 60-minute line but would -1.
Our only book with 6.5 and as you can see it may flip to 5.5 soon. Both No. 1 goalies are set to play and both have been very good: Karel Vejmelka (2.02 GAA) for Utah and Jeremy Swayman (2.30 GAA) for Boston. The Bruins have had just one game in four top this number and that in OT. The Mammoth also have had just one in four top 6.5 goals. They might be without excellent offensive blueliner Mikhail Sergachev (1G, 5A -- second on team with six points) after he left Tuesday's game injured. Per usual, I think only a 3-3 regulation tie gets us.