There are seven games on the schedule featuring showdowns between offensive powerhouses. Time now for our NHL Daily Predictions.
| Penguins vs Lightning ML +125 / -145 O/U 6 |
Blues vs Panthers ML +100 / -120 O/U 5.5 |
| Stars vs Predators ML +105 / -115 O/U 5.5 |
Wild vs Blackhawks ML +130 / -150 O/U 5.5 |
| Jets vs Canucks ML -130 / +110 O/U 5.5 |
Red Wings vs Coyotes ML -105 / -115 O/U 5.5 |
| Sabres vs Sharks ML +160 / -185 O/U 5.5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Game to Watch: Wild vs Blackhawks.
Minnesota got an early break after a pair of disappointing losses to start the season. The Wild fell to the Red Wings in Detroit 4-2 in their season opener, then stole a point from the Hurricanes with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation before losing in overtime.
Just two games into the season, the Wild get their first bye week. Seems like an odd way to start the season. They have had four days of rest to prepare for tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. They better be ready.
Chicago won three of four meetings last season against the Wild.
The Blackhawks have yet to be held to fewer than three goals in a game this young season. After massacring the Penguins on opening night and besting the Blue Jackets 5-1, they lost a barnburner with the Maple Leafs 4-3 in Toronto and beat the Canadiens in the Bell Centre the next night.
They return home with a 3-1 record.
Brandon Saad is making himself right back at home, leading the team with five goals and seven points. Perhaps the most surprising early starter for the Hawks is Jan Rutta, who is currently riding a three-game point streak. Rutta is a 27-year-old defenseman playing in his first NHL season.
Leading the Wild in points is Chris Stewart. As we all predicted.
Stewart has two goals and an assist. He is the only Wild player with more than two points. Thirteen Minnesota players have points, which sounds impressive until you realize that there are 17 Blackhawks with points given their offensive explosion to start the year.
Chicago’s hot at home and Minnesota has yet to pick up a road win. It’s a tough scenario. The Hawks are just too hot right now.
Prediction: Take the Blackhawks to win. Play the under.
Other NHL Daily Predictions
Penguins vs Lightning: The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing on the tail end of a back-t0-back. This has to be one of the toughest back-to-backs that anyone has to play this season- on the road both games against the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not two teams that I’d want to draw.
Brayden Point’s hot start just keeps getting hotter. Point has rattled off three consecutive multi-point games to begin the year, leading the Bolts with seven points. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos both have a pair of multi-point games of their own.
It feels good to be mentioning Stamkos again in these articles. Stammer has five assists on the year. He hasn’t found the back of the net yet, which means he has not scored in an NHL game since November 15th of last year. It will come.
Speaking of last year, Pittsburgh swept the season series away from the Tampa Bay Lightning and lit the lamp in the process. The Pens outscored the Bolts 15-7 in three games.
The last time Steven Stamkos faced the Pittsburgh Penguins was May 26th, 2016, when the Penguins eliminated the Lightning from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference Final.
Pittsburgh may have put up an impressive effort against the Capitals in Wednesday Night Rivalry (they won 3-2 thanks to three goals on the powerplay), but this is one nasty back-to-back that I just don’t see them sweeping.
The Penguins are 1-5 in their last six games playing on no days’ rest and the Bolts have won their last four home games dating back to last year.
Prediction: Take the Bolts to win. Play the under. Pittsburgh being on a back-to-back makes this game hitting seven goals unlikely.
Stars vs Predators: The Dallas Stars are in the win column. With a 4-2 home victory against the Detroit Red Wings, they improved their record to 1-2.
John Klingberg, Tyler Seguin, Mattias Janmark and Martin Hanzal scored in the victory.
Nashville found themselves celebrating the exact same scenario Tuesday night. A pair of disappointing road losses were forgotten as the Preds outslugged the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5.
The game was not without its difficulties. Nashville leapt out to a 3-0 start thanks to goals from Craig Smith, Scott Hartnell and Nick Bonino. But their lead evaporated in the span of 10 minutes and the game was even after two periods.
Philly netted two more goals to start the third period, making it five unanswered. Filip Forsberg pulled the Preds to within one.
With 1:17 remaining and Nashville running a 6-on-3 advantage, P.K. Subban kept the puck in the zone after a blocked shot, found Filip Forsberg on the doorstep who then fed Hartnell in the blue paint. Hartnell banged home his second of the game to even up the score.
The Predators kept a man advantage. Rather than playing for overtime, they went in for the kill. Forsberg again on the doorstep sniped Brian Elliott to give the Preds a 6-5 win.
It’s an early classic.
Ben Bishop will be in net for the Stars and he has looked very strong in the 1.67 games he’s played. He was yanked from his first start against Vegas because of an eye injury, but returned to the net and allowed two on 25 shots to earn the win against Detroit.
Another reason not to make saves with your face! #duck 🤕 pic.twitter.com/99ttEzZ5b4
— Ben Bishop (@Benbishop30) October 8, 2017
Ouch.
Bishop will need to put on one heck of a show against the Preds tonight. Unfortunately the line just is not lucrative enough for me to give them much of a look tonight.
Prediction: Take the Predators to win. Play the under.
Jets vs Canucks: If the Winnipeg Jets want to get their fans, or their doubters, believing that they will contend for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, they are going to need a more complete game.
They earned their first win Monday night in Edmonton against the Oilers with a 5-2 performance. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 37 of 39 shots, a welcome return to his rookie season form.
Mark Scheifele leads the team with three goals and five points. Blake Wheeler has four assists.
Patrik Laine has a goal and an assist through three games, which is exactly where he was last year. In his fourth game, he netted a hat trick against a Canadian team.
Coincidence?
Well, yes.
But I still think the Jets are going to win this one.
Why? Because the Canucks are an objectively bad hockey team.
Winnipeg has won six of their last seven against the Canucks, including two of three last season. They held the Canucks to six goals in three games.
Prediction: Take the Jets to win. Play the under.
