The NHL season is officially back on Tuesday, with two interesting matchups kicking off our season.
In the first game of the night, we have the New York Rangers hosting the Stanley Cup runner-ups, the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden. And later in the night, it’s the Los Angeles Kings taking on the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Check out the current odds, via DraftKings.
NHL Opening Night Betting Odds & Prediction
The Rangers (-115) open as a slight favorite at home against the Lightning (-105), with the over/under set at 5.5. New York will be playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulders, too, after the Lightning eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Final last season. But during the regular season, the Rangers were able to get two points in all three matchups they had against Tampa Bay.
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New York will luckily still have their young core in tact for the 2022-23 season. In the offseason, the Rangers added forward Vincent Trocheck to their group consisting of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, as well as their top two defensemen in Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, the recently named captain. And with reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin Manning the net, the Stanley Cup is the clear goal for the Rangers this season.
Look for them to get off to a hot start and beat the Lightning to kick off the season.
In the later game, the read might be a little bit harder. The Kings will match the Rangers as -115 favorites over the Knights, with the over/under set at six.
Last season, the Knights missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their five year history in the NHL, but there’s some reason for optimism that they’ll make it back this year. Despite losing goalie Robin Lehner for the season due to injury, undrafted 25-year-old rookie Logan Thompson has shined in his absence. In the preseason, the young net-minder allowed just six goals over nearly 180 minutes of action for a .924 save percentage and 2.04 goals-against average.
Other than Lehner, the Knights don’t have many injury concerns, with William Carrier the only other player out for the regular season opener. The season debut will also be the first game for new head coach Bruce Cassidy and veteran forward Phil Kessel, who will be paired on a line with Jack Eichel and Reilly Smith for the opener.
The Kings have a young, exciting team playing in front of veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick, but I’m looking for the Knights to make a statement on Tuesday night, betting them as a slight underdog at -105 on the road.
