We’ve got a busy night of hockey ahead of us. There are 11 games scheduled for tonight. Let’s take a look at our NHL Daily Predictions.
| Coyotes vs Islanders ML +160 / -185 O/U 6 |
Ducks vs Flyers ML Off / Off O/U Off |
| Oilers vs Penguins ML +130 / -150 O/U 6 |
Lightning vs Hurricanes ML -110 / -110 O/U 5.5 |
| Panthers vs Canadiens ML +110 / -130 O/U 5.5 |
Kings vs Senators ML Off / Off O/U Off |
| Red Wings vs Sabres ML +120 / -140 O/U 5.5 |
Flames vs Predators ML +125 / -145 O/U 5.5 |
| Canucks vs Wild ML +165 / -180 O/U 5.5 |
Stars vs Avalanche ML -135 / +115 O/U 5.5 |
| Blackhawks vs Golden Knights ML -185 / +160 O/U 6 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Game to Watch: Blackhawks vs Golden Knights.
Alright. Seriously. For real now. Eventually, the Golden Knights have to come crashing back down to earth.
Right?
I mean, come on. All those who thought that this Golden Knights team would start the season 6-1 despite losing Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Marchessault to injury and not playing Vadim Shipachyov and Shea Theodore for every game, stand on your head and sing a Nirvana song with perfect lyrical accuracy. Because there’s no one on earth who thought that.
And yet, here we are. The Vegas Golden Knights are only a point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the Pacific Division lead. They are tied for third in the Western Conference. With whom, you ask? Oh, their opponent tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Does any of this make any sense to anyone else? The Sharks, Wild and Oilers are floundering in the West yet the Golden Knights are thriving? Why? How?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. But hey, let’s all enjoy the ride while we can.
The Golden Knights will get their toughest challenge of the season tonight in more ways than one. Not only are they playing a surefire Stanley Cup contender in the Blackhawks, but they are also now without their first-string and second-string goaltender. Malcolm Subban is now on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss four weeks. This comes on the heels of a Marc-Andre Fleury concussion that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.
It’s Oscar Dansk time.
Dansk was the first pick of the second round in 2012 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since getting drafted, his numbers look unspectacular. Though he was very successful in the OHL with the Erie Otters, he has been subpar at the AHL and ECHL levels. In Sweden, his save percentage was average.
Now here he is in the NHL, and he already has a win under his belt thanks to a relief effort Saturday.
Dansk and Vegas are huge home underdogs tonight against the Blackhawks. The Hawks have been feast-or-famine so far on the year. With an inexperienced goaltender in net, they could be licking their chops.
All the same, this big of a home underdog when the rest of the team is clicking at the rate that they are is just too good to pass up. The Golden Knights have already beaten the St. Louis Blues at home.
I like their chances.
Prediction: Take the Golden Knights to win. Play the over. If they do win, it will have to be by scoring a bunch.
Other NHL Daily Predictions
Coyotes vs Islanders: While the Vegas Golden Knights cruise along the water, the Arizona Coyotes are drowning. Many thought that the Yotes had improved over the offseason, not necessarily to the point of contention, but at least where they could win a game here and there.
Here and/or there have yet to arrive. Arizona is 0-7-1 to start the year and already has the worst goal differential in the West at -16 (2nd worst in NHL).
Brooklyn has won three of four, two against the San Jose Sharks. They are 4-1 in their last five home games, 2-0-1 this season.
The home team has won the last five meetings, meaning the Coyotes are 0-4 in their last four trips to Nassau/Barclays.
It’s a long, bumpy road ahead for the Coyotes. Brace yourself.
Prediction: Take the Islanders to win. Play the over, which is 4-1-1 in the Yotes’ last six.
Oilers vs Penguins: Both the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins have gotten off to befuddling starts in their own respect. Edmonton currently dwells in the cellar of the Pacific, getting left in the dust early by starting the year 2-5-0. Their last game was a 2-1 loss Saturday in Philadelphia.
Their two wins have come against competitive teams- an opening night shutout of the Calgary Flames and a 2-1 shootout victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago.
Pittsburgh sits at second in the Metro Division, but they have a -9 goal differential because of a pair of blowouts. Their last loss was a 7-1 drumming at the hands of the Lightning. Couple that with a 10-1 loss earlier this year and a handful of one-goal games and you have a rough +/-.
The Penguins have allowed fewer than three goals only twice this year.
This would be a great game for the Oilers’ offense to snap back to reality. The Penguins’ goaltending and defense has to be at least a little frustrated by their early struggles. They just waived their backup goaltender Antti Niemi, meaning the expected workload for Matt Murray just increased.
Rest could be a factor, though. The Oilers are winless in their last six games on two days of rest, while the Penguins have won their last four such games. Edmonton is also 0-5 in their last five against Metro Division opponents.
Pittsburgh has won five of the last six encounters with the Oilers.
Prediction: Take the Pens to win. Play the over.
Lightning vs Hurricanes: Take the over. If the over is less than six on a day the Tampa Bay Lightning are playing, you take that over.
Nikita Kucherov alone could light the lamp enough times.
The Bolts are 7-1-1 coming off a 7-1 explosion at home. The over has hit six of eight times this season. It has hit in three of six Hurricanes games, too.
Expect scoring.
Prediction: Take the Lightning to win. Play the over.
Stars vs Avalanche: The other home underdog tonight other than the Vegas Golden Knights are the Colorado Avalanche. Dallas is coming in on a four-game winning streak and Ben Bishop is off to a hot start.
Then again, so is Semyon Varlamov.
The tale of the tape shows that this is a home dominated matchup between Colorado and Dallas. The Stars have won the last five meetings, but the Avs are 8-2 in their last 10 in the Pepsi Center against the Stars.
Colorado followed up a three-game winning streak by dropping three games in a row and only scoring five goals in the process.
They are more than capable of stealing one from the Stars tonight. I’m not ready to declare the Avalanche as a team not worth betting on yet.
Prediction: Take a chance on the Avs tonight. Play the under.
