The NHL season begins in earnest on Tuesday with three games, including a playoff rematch between the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins.
The pregame narrative: Florida is at home for banner night and has the goaltending advantage. I like the Panthers to win in regulation and for the Utah Hockey Club to win its inaugural game in Salt Lake City.
Check out the best NHL picks for Oct. 8.
NHL picks
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Best bet: Panthers to win in regulation (+108)
The Bruins got their guy in net … but he won’t be starting on Tuesday.
Boston inked Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $64-million contract, ending a stalemate that lasted throughout training camp and the preseason.
That means Joonas Korpisalo will be tending twine against the defending champs. I have nothing against the Finn but he’s a noticeable downgrade. Korpisalo had a 3.27 GAA and .890 save percentage last season, which ranked 44th and 45th, respectively among all goaltenders.
Granted, he was playing for the Ottawa Senators and they were a defensive mess.
Swayman had a 2.53 GAA (eighth) and .916 SV% (fifth). Sergei Bobrovsky, who starts for Florida, was even better, posting a 2.37 GAA (third) and .915 SV% (seventh).
And if you look at the rest of the roster, Florida is clearly the better team.
The Panthers won the Atlantic Division with 110 points and 52 wins. They also had the second-best 5v5 Corsi rate (55.7%), according to Natural Stat Trick.
Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart all topped 80 points last year while only one Bruin (David Pastrnak, 110) even met the 70-point threshold.
Key stat: The Panthers beat the Bruins 4-2 in the playoffs last year, and each of their wins came in regulation.
Quick picks
Hockey Club to win in regulation (-103): Utah welcomes Chicago for its first-ever game, and the fans should be in for a good one.
The team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes hit its stride toward the end of last season, winning 10 of its final 16 games while averaging 3.4 goals per game. For context, the Canucks ranked sixth last year with that same GPG average.
The Hockey Club has a deep, young roster that seemed destined to take the next step and I like their chances of lighting up the defensively inept Blackhawks.
Chicago ranked 29th in GAA (3.52) and 26th in SV% (.897) last year.
Outside of Connor Bedard, the team has no promising young talent upfront. Last year’s Calder winner slots in alongside Ilya Mikheyev and Teuvo Teravainen, who have never scored more than 25 goals apiece.
Picks made at 2:29 p.m. ET on 10/07/2024.
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Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.