Saturday features a full slate of NHL games with a handful of exciting matchups like Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins travelling to Toronto to take on Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs. Washington’s Alex Ovechkin continues his hunt for thr all-time scoring record as he is 41 goals away from Wayne Gretzky when he plays the Devils and the Senators take on the Habs in an all-Canadian matchup.
The Best Bets took a step backwards yesterday as we recorded a 1-3 record and a miss on the Pad Stacking Challenge. We look to bounce back as we still have a solid 10-5 record on the season and we have a confident pick for the Pad Stack.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Ducks Sharks Over 6.0 goals (-125)
The Sharks started off their season with a bang as they got out to an early 4-1 lead before crumbling versus the Blues. It was an impressive showing from the Sharks youngsters with Celebrini following up his first NHL goal with a nice assist. He could prove to be a difference-making player this season with the Sharks top six looking far better than anyone expected as they contributed three of the four San Jose goals.
Both of these teams last season finished top three in fewest goals scored and most goals allowed on a per game basis. Anaheim will feature one of their high-end athletes in Cutter Gauthier as well as free agent acquisition Robby Fabbri. Both players could give the Ducks a jolt in their offence that could help them score a couple extra goals in their season opener.
The Sharks youngsters will want to prove they are better than their first game collapse and should both of these teams to the over in goals as their offences are both improved but not their backends.
Bet: Utah HC Rangers Over 6.0 goals (-110)
Utah has started off the season on a high note with two straight wins. They’ve seen an early breakout from prospect Dylan Guenther, who has four goals in the team’s first two games. They will see their first real test when they take on the reigning President’s Trophy winners in the New York Rangers.
The quick play from all of Utah’s young players is what kept them in both their games with the Hockey Club rallying late versus the Islanders before winning the game in overtime. The Rangers have beat the former Arizona Coyotes in six straight games with Utah’s last win in Madison Square Garden being in 2019.
It should make for a close game as Utah would love to ride their momentum from their two wins into a tough matchup on the road. In their last meeting, they combined for 13 goals in a 8-5 win for the Rangers. Utah’s ten goals so far this season is fourth-best in the league and should push the Rangers to keep up and see them eventually edge out a win with their experience.
Bet: Oilers -1.5 (-140), Connor Bedard anytime goal (+200)
The Blackhawks offence has looked as bad as they were last season through their first two games with just three goals. This looks better in comparsion to the Oilers, who scored no goals in their 6-0 loss versus the Winnipeg Jets in their season opener. Edmonton will come out with a lot more aggression in their second game and should ride the hot hand of their netminder Stuart Skinner.
The Edmonton native has a perfect 4-0-0 record versus the Blackhawks with a 2.00 goals against average that should show up in a bounce-back performance Saturday night. The Oilers have limited the Blackhawks to under two goals in their last three matchups and have claimed wins in six consecutive games against them.
Edmonton should claim the win but not without allowing Connor Bedard to score his first goal of the season as he’s involved with two of their three goals this season and should find the back of the net like he did in his only career appearance against the Oilers so far.
