The second night of the NHL season produces some intriguing matchups.
The pregame narrative: Mitch Marner will make his debut for the Vegas Golden Knights when they host the Los Angeles Kings. Before that, the Boston Bruins look to begin a bounce-back season against the Washington Capitals.
Check out my NHL predictions for Oct. 8, featuring a prop pick on Morgan Geekie.
NHL predictions: Best bet
Best bet: Golden Knights -1.5 (+115)
This is an early opportunity to fade a team playing a back-to-back on the road.
The Kings started their season on Tuesday with a loss to the Colorado Avalanche. That was at home, where L.A. was much better last season.
In fact, the Kings won the most home games in the NHL in 2024-25 with a 31-6-4 record.
Yesterday’s 4-1 loss didn’t give L.A. fans much to be hopeful for, and the task doesn’t get any easier on Wednesday.
The Golden Knights were among the NHL’s best home teams last year. They held a 29-9-3 record in Vegas and added the superstar Marner to their top line.
He’s known for his offensive skill, but he’s one of the best two-way players in hockey.
Marner joins an already stacked roster that finished with 110 points atop the Pacific Division last year.
Key stat: Vegas covered this puck line in 23 of 29 home wins last season.
NHL player prop
Geekie to record 1+ points (-125): Geekie will need to take another step this season if the Bruins have any hope of returning to the postseason.
Playing on the first line alongside David Pastrnak, Geekie finished last year with career highs in goals (33) and points (57).
Once the Bruins went full tank mode and traded Brad Marchand, Geekie showed his potential as an elite forward.
- Over the final 14 games of the regular season, Geekie scored 22 points.
- Though unsustainable, that would equate to 129 points over a full 82-game season.
Again, I don’t expect Geekie to go out and lead the NHL in scoring because of one hot stretch, but he’s in a great position to succeed, and I believe it’s reasonable to expect close to a point-per-game campaign.
He will continue to play valuable minutes alongside Pastrnak on the first line and top power-play unit.
Pastrnak has scored 100-plus points in three straight seasons and showed incredible chemistry with Geekie down the stretch.
NHL predictions made at 4:18 p.m. ET on 10/08/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.