NHL Picks: While most teams opened up the NHL season on Wednesday or Thursday, the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes will begin on Friday. The Islanders made a number of changes in the off-season and begin as one of the contenders in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes also made changes but they start the season without one of their top players as Jordan Staal is out due to injury. Here is a look at this game on Friday night and NHL picks.
Islanders a Live Stanley Cup Longshot
The Islanders are listed as 86-1 in Stanley Cup odds to win the Stanley Cup this season and in the Eastern Conference anything is possible. The Rangers made the Finals last year and they don’t look to be that much better than the Islanders. The team made a lot of really good off-season moves including two trades last week. They added defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy who should really help the defense. Both players are in their prime and the Islanders got each player relatively cheaply. Leddy had 7 goals and 31 points last season for Chicago while Boychuk had 5 goals and 23 points. The Islanders got goaltender Jaroslav Halak last season and they also added Mikahil Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. And they will have a healthy John Tavares this season and he makes a huge difference. The Islanders are an interesting Stanley Cup longshot this season.
Hurricanes could be in Early Trouble
The Hurricanes begin the season with no real chance to win the Stanley Cup as they are listed with NHL odds of 125-1. The team will be without Jordan Staal who is out for the next 3-4 months with a broken leg. The team is hoping that Riley Nash can fill in for Staal but the reality is that no one can replace him. The schedule could bury the Canes as they play six of their first eight games on the road. The Hurricanes haven’t made the playoffs in five years and they are unlikely to make it this season.
Game Notes
These teams met four times last season and the Hurricanes took three of the four. The Islanders did win the last meeting which ended a six-game winning streak in the series for Carolina. The Hurricanes have won six of the last ten at home in the series with four of the last five going over.
NHL Picks
We’ll take the road underdog Islanders to win this game on Friday.
The Islanders’ chances are looking decent this year. It wouldn’t shock me if they made the playoffs but I still don’t see them going very far. Enjoy Boychuk while you can, New York, I don’t see you having him longer than this season once he becomes and unrestricted free agent. We’ll see.