Can the Golden Knights make it six in a row? Will Florida maintain home dominance over the Bolts? Let’s take a look at our NHL Daily Predictions.
| Golden Knights vs Islanders ML +155 / -175 O/U 5.5 |
Coyotes vs Flyers ML +180 / -200 O/U 5.5 |
| Bruins vs Blue Jackets ML +130 / -150 O/U 5.5 |
Canadiens vs Senators ML -105 / -115 O/U 5.5 |
| Lightning vs Panthers ML -125 / +105 O/U 5.5 |
Kings vs Blues ML +105 / -125 O/U 5.5 |
| Stars vs Canucks ML -121 / +100 O/U 6 |
Maple Leafs vs Sharks ML -105 / -115 O/U 6 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Game to Watch: Lightning vs Panthers.
The top seed in the Eastern Conference currently belongs to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are 9-2-1 through their first 12 games and are lighting the lamp at an extraordinary clip.
Nikita Kucherov has been the most electric player of this young season, establishing an electric connection with Steven Stamkos on the top line. Kucherov has a league-leading 12 goals and seven assists while Stamkos has four goals and a league-leading 17 assists. Stamkos and Kucherov are first and second in the scoring leaderboard, respectively.
Andrei Vasilevskiy could be the first goaltender to hit double-digit wins tonight. Though it took four starts for his feet to truly hit the ground running, Vasilevskiy has allowed just seven goals in his last six starts. He’s already got a shutout under his belt as well. He goes for his ninth consecutive victory tonight.
Vasilevskiy’s only loss so far this year came against the Florida Panthers on the second night of their season. He stopped 43 of 48 shots thrown his way.
The Florida Panthers are having tremendous trouble away from their home building. They are 3-1-1 in Sunrise, but 1-4-0 as the visiting team. Fortunately, they will be in their home red jerseys tonight.
Florida is having a bit of an identity crisis. There really is not any one thing that they do particularly well, their goaltending situation is precarious with Roberto Luongo injured, and they are having a hard time getting consistency out of their offense. One night they are beating up the Capitals in Washington, the next they are getting smacked around by the Montreal Canadiens.
James Reimer will likely be in net tonight. Reimer’s problem is not so much that he is a bad goalie, but he is a goalie that needs protection. When evaluating the importance of Corsi and shot attempts, James Reimer is the reason why these things need to be calculated. High shot volume usually wears him down, and he has faced a ton of shots this season.
One of the bright spots of this season for the Cats is the return of Evgenii Dadonov, who has five goals and 11 points. Dadonov skates on the first line with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Florida’s top six is what it is. It’s good, but could be better. Their bottom six is an abyss. Guys like Micheal Haley and Derek MacKenzie provide no offensive support whatsoever. MacKenzie gets a pass (I guess) because he wears the C. But in rapid succession, the Cats have lost Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Marchessault, Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith, totally robbing them of their depth and speed.
Even though the Panthers have beaten the Bolts on home ice already this year (and have won their last five home games against Tampa), I like the Lightning in this. They’re just too hot coming in.
Prediction: Take the Lightning to win. Play the over.
Other NHL Daily Predictions
Golden Knights vs Islanders: Let me ask a serious question. I know I’ve been incredulous at the Golden Knights’ success before, and I still argue that it defies logic. But I have to ask.
At what point will the world take them seriously?
When does a +155 line on the team currently riding the longest active winning streak in the league become disrespectful? Is it any time soon?
The Golden Knights have won five in a row. If you watched this week’s inaugural GetMoreSportsCast (which, if you haven’t, do that) you’d have known to take the Golden Knights to beat the Avalanche by a bunch on Friday night. Which they did.
Vegas now takes their 8-1-0 record on the road to tour the East. Staying hot at home when you have a seven-game home stand is easy. Now it’s time to prove you can win away from the comforts of home.
In the coming two weeks, the Golden Knights will visit Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. There’s not really an easy building to play in of that bunch. Their first opponent is John Tavares and the New York Islanders.
The Isles soundly thumped the Nashville Predators on Saturday 6-2. John Tavares scored a natural hat trick in the third period alone. Jordan Eberle finally tallied his first two goals as an Islander.
This is going to be one heck of a game.
And it’s pointless to look at trends, because the Golden Knights are the ultimate unpredictable team. Anything can happen. They have played all of two road games, one of which was against the worst team in hockey.
This is must-watch television.
Oh, and if you check the NHL leaderboard, you’ll see Oscar Dansk leading the goals-against average and save percentage categories.
Hockey is crazy.
Prediction: Take the Golden Knights. Ride that hot streak and cash in on that line. Play the over.
Coyotes vs Flyers: If the Vegas Golden Knights are not the team you want to cash in on for some reason, the other chance at big money tonight rides on the Arizona Coyotes, losers of their first 11 games of the season.
Rightfully, the Yotes are a +180 tonight. The only thing that could possibly salvage their chances tonight is a start from Antti Raanta, who has missed weeks with a lower-body injury. The waiving of Louis Domingue all but confirms Raanta’s return, with Scott Wedgewood acquired from the Devils to back him up.
There’s no question that Raanta in net changes things for the Coyotes. But they will need better defensive support and offense from someone other than Clayton Keller.
It’s hard, because I want to take a chance on Raanta finally bringing Arizona their first win in his return to action. But I have a hard time believing he’s 100% ready to go. And the game being on the road doesn’t help.
Prediction: Take the Flyers to win. Play the over.
Kings vs Blues: The Blues and Kings are in a three-way tie with Tampa Bay for the early President’s Trophy standings. The Kings have won seven of their last eight, equaling their best 11-game start in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Blues have won their last six home games. They are the only team in the NHL currently undefeated on home ice.
St. Louis has won four of the last five meetings with the Kings. The under has hit in five of the last six meetings. And with the way that Jonathan Quick and Jake Allen have played this year, the under seems to be the way to go.
The day of the week matters more in football, but Monday night is not typically kind to the Los Angeles Kings. They are 1-10 in their last 11 Monday games.
Leading early will be the key for the St. Louis Blues. They are 8-0 when leading after two periods so far this season. Though the Kings are a threat to score at any time, the priority tonight will be jumping ahead early.
Prediction: Take the Blues to remain undefeated at home tonight. Play the under.
