NHL Predictions – Tuesday, October 15:
It will be a very emotional night in Columbus for the Blue Jackets’ home opener. Home openers in any sport are normally a night of celebration, but tonight in Columbus will be about honoring the memories of former Blue Jacket Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were killed this summer when they were struck by a vehicle while riding their bikes. The Florida Panthers are the Jackets’ opponent tonight. I have not heard whether the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk, who has missed the last two games with an illness, will be in attendance. Tkachuk and Gaudreau were close friends when they played together in Calgary.
Florida Panthers (-162, 6.5) at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 p.m. ET
First off, I need to say I am a little uncomfortable suggesting wagering on this game. I don’t want anyone to feel I am being insensitive. The emotions will be running high among the Blue Jackets players and fans to come away with a win. The Panthers opened as a (-180) road favorite and we are seeing the line move toward the home underdog Blue Jackets as Florida is now a (-162) favorite. Despite taking just 15% of the bets, the Jackets are getting 44% of the money wagered, meaning low bets and high dollars on the home team. Columbus is coming off a 6-4 win at Colorado after a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild to start their season.
Florida once again will be without star players Matthew Tkachuk (illness) and Sasha Barkov (lower-body injury). Sergei Bobrovsky started and won Monday in Boston, so expect Spencer Knight between the pipes for the Cats.
The Jackets will look to take advantage of not only a team that is missing two of its top players but is playing games on back-to-back days and three games in four days.
Play: Blue Jackets (+136) – 1/2 unit
Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning (-135, 6.5)
7 p.m. ET
The Canucks have struggled out of the gate to start the season with a pair of losses on home ice and now head out for the first of four games on the road. Vancouver did pick up a pair of loser points in its defeats with a shootout and overtime loss. The early season struggles can be attributed to both the injury to starting goalie Thatcher Demko (lower-body injury), who is out indefinitely, and that the Canucks are adjusting to having nine players in the lineup who were not on last season’s team.
Expect goalie Kevin Lankinen to get the start at Tampa. Lankinen was more than good in his Vancouver debut Saturday night versus the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2 shootout loss).
If history is any indication, Tampa is not the ideal opponent for Vancouver to get back in the win column. The Canucks have lost eight of their last 10 meetings with Tampa. The Bolts have scored four or more goals in seven of the eight wins.
Tampa is just one of three teams to have played only one game this season. The Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Over the past two seasons, the Lightning have scored four goals or more in 76 of their 91 wins. If you believe Tampa is the right side in this game, as I do, you can get their team total at plus money instead of laying the (-135) on the moneyline.
Play: Lightning TT over 3.5 (+110) — 1 unit
Vegas Golden Knights (-135, 6) at Washington Capitals
7 p.m. ET
The Golden Knights are a perfect 3-0 to start the season. Their top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev has six goals and 19 points, and they occupy three of the top nine spots in the NHL scoring race.
Expect former Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson to get the start for the Capitals. It looks like the Golden Knights will start Aidan Hill and not former Caps goalie Ilya Samsonov, who got the victory in his Vegas debut Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.
Fresh off being held without a shot on goal in the Capitals’ loss to the Devils on Saturday, Alexander Ovechkin resumes his quest to chip away at Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, trailing the “Great One” by 42 goals. Five times last season, Ovechkin was held without a shot on goal in a game. In his next game, he finished with five, four, five, five and zero shots on goal.
Play: Alexander Ovechkin 4+ shots on goal (+140) — 1 unit
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes (-148,6)
7 p.m. ET
The Devils will play their league-high sixth game of the season tonight when they travel to Carolina. New Jersey finds itself in a tough spot on the back end of a back-to-back and its third game in four days. The Canes are playing just their second game of the season as they had their previous game postponed in Tampa because of Hurricane Milton.
Carolina is coming off a rare home loss as a betting favorite, falling to the Lightning 4-1. Over the past two seasons, Carolina is 55-28 as a home favorite and last season it lost consecutive games only once in that role.
In the words of legendary football coach Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.” Still, I’m not sure what to make of the Devils, who have wins over Utah, Washington, two over the Buffalo Sabres and a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Carolina swept the three meetings with Jersey last season and has won eight of the last 10. The Devils are vastly improved from last season and are my pick to win the Metropolitan Division, but I believe this is a situational spot that favors Carolina. The Canes opened up as a -145 favorite and have been steamed up to -166 getting 66% of the bets and 65% of the money being wagered on the game.
Play: Hurricanes ML (-166) – 1 unit
Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators (-162, 6)
8 p.m. ET
Nashville is in search of its first win of the season. The Predators are coming off a 3-0 loss at Detroit in a game in which they were “goalied” by the Wings’ Cam Talbot, who stopped all 42 shots, including nine from Predators defenseman Roman Josi. When Talbot wasn’t making saves, his teammates blocked 34 shots. In all, Nashville had 89 shots directed at the net but couldn’t put one past Talbot.
The Kraken have just one win in their first three games. Seattle has scored just two goals combined in their two losses compared with five goals in their only win of the season against the Minnesota Wild. Seattle has eight goals from five players but is still waiting for Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick in 2021, to not only score a goal but to earn a point. It’s still too early to panic, but last season Beniers failed to register a point in 51 of the 77 games he played.
Plays: Roman Josi over 3.5 shots on goal (-110) – 1 unit
Predators (-115) to win in regulation – 1 unit
Note: If Philipp Grubauer is named the starter in goal for Seattle, I would add Josi for an anytime goal (+275). Josi has seven goals in nine games against Grubauer.
