2025-26 NHL Opening Night: Best Bets & Predictions

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00:00Three games tonight, George.

00:02So let's talk some of this hockey.

00:03Watching through the preseason, heading into the openers tonight.

00:07Your feel for the NHL season is what for right now, George?

00:10How are we feeling about it?

00:12It's a little weird, right?

00:13Because, you know, we're knee-deep in the football, right?

00:16It's week six of the NFL.

00:18Weird things are happening.

00:19Kansas City and Baltimore have losing records here.

00:21We didn't see this happening.

00:22We're in the baseball playoffs.

00:24You mentioned Philadelphia.

00:25Dodgers become beatable.

00:26No one's going to stop them.

00:27Yankees on the brink of elimination.

00:28So it is weird that the NHL starts tonight.

00:32Especially it's a 5 p.m. Eastern start, right?

00:35Okay, that's a little strange here to get used to.

00:38But, you know, in a month from now, it'll be, you know, normal.

00:40Every other day, you know, hey, the NHL, here we go.

00:44All right, well, let's start with – I don't know if you know this.

00:48Yeah, but the cup is in, I believe, Florida.

00:53And they are on the ice here tonight as a ridiculous favorite.

00:57Are the Blackhawks – I mean, with all these first-round picks and everything else today, I mean, they have been terrible for how long now?

01:04Are they ever putting it together in – I mean, that's a legendary hockey town.

01:09And they remain awful.

01:11What is going on there?

01:13Yeah.

01:14I guess we're going to start negative here.

01:15We'll start with the Blackhawks.

01:16It's not happening yet, right?

01:18You got Conor Bedard, right?

01:19You got the pick from a couple years ago.

01:21He was supposed to be the next – I mean, I'm not going to say McDavid, right?

01:24No one's McDavid.

01:24That's a godly town here.

01:26But he was supposed to be, okay, superstar, here we go.

01:28And it just hasn't happened yet.

01:30Whether it's because they haven't fulfilled, you know, needs around him.

01:34You know, I'm sorry, Bedard.

01:35You're an average hockey fan.

01:37Name me another Blackhawks.

01:38Name me one.

01:39One.

01:40Right?

01:40You traded Steph Jones last year to your Florida Panthers.

01:43Your goaltending, Spencer Knight, is an average goalie.

01:45Nothing special there.

01:46Actually, probably below average.

01:48And so, for the Florida Panthers, it's like homecoming.

01:50You couldn't have scheduled a better game here.

01:53All right?

01:53You're playing the Chicago Blackhawks at home, raising the banner.

01:56You got your rings the other night.

01:58So, everything is going right for the Panthers, with the exception of –

02:01we can't forget, they're missing two key players here.

02:04Barkov, ACL and MCL surgery.

02:06He's gone seven to nine months.

02:08Maybe you see him at some point during the playoffs,

02:10and that's probably a huge maybe in capitalized letters.

02:13And, of course, Matthew Kachuk.

02:14He won't be available until probably maybe Christmas, somewhere around there.

02:18He's out there.

02:19Those are –

02:20Barkov, that's probably the best player in the NHL that nobody talks about.

02:23And Matthew Kachuk is a top ten player,

02:26especially if you want someone who's an agitator along with skill there.

02:29So, those are two big losses, and they still won't matter tonight for the Panthers.

02:32Panthers will win this.

02:34Incredible stuff, too.

02:34And, by the way, NHL, follow along, Sue,

02:36like what the NBA does typically on their opening nights and also the NFL.

02:39Give us a game where the champions are actually going to have to fight back in a game opening night.

02:44Minus 285s to minus 300s, depending on where you're shopping at,

02:47as a favorite for the Florida Panthers here.

02:49But the New York Rangers are in play tonight, George,

02:52taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

02:54Minus 220 at most outlets here.

02:56A monster favorite in the garden for the Rangers today.

02:59What do we see in this game?

03:00Yeah, I think we need to remember the Pittsburgh Penguins.

03:03Okay, yeah, you got Crosby, one of the best players of all time.

03:06Malkin is still there.

03:07Chris Letang.

03:08And that's it.

03:09All right, they literally, after that, that cover gets bare real quick here.

03:13These are not the Penguins of old.

03:15All right, this might be the worst team in the Eastern Conference, to let you know.

03:18All right, they're not a good team.

03:19Rangers are looking to rebound off of a subpar, you know,

03:22where we thought they were going to do some damage last year.

03:24It didn't happen.

03:25Whether it was, you know, locker room turmoil, they didn't like the coach,

03:29the Vanaget, the Panarin, whatever.

03:31It didn't work out.

03:32They sent away some players.

03:33Chris Kreider, now on Anaheim, looking to rebuild.

03:36If everything goes right for the Rangers, this could be a good team.

03:38Not a great team, but a good team.

03:40You have the goal-thitting against the Sterkin.

03:42Defense is a little shaky, but you pick up J.T. Miller,

03:45who Vancouver couldn't wait to get rid of.

03:46Once again, more locker room issues there.

03:48And he's now the captain for the Rangers.

03:50Wow.

03:51But he's still a very good player here.

03:52I like, listen, obviously I like the Rangers tonight.

03:55Like I said, Penguins are not a good team.

03:56I think the Rangers will take care of business.

03:57I am curious to see, will the Rangers be that team?

04:01Can they compete with the Hurricanes?

04:02Can they compete with the Devils if they can stay healthy?

04:04I'm not going to compare it to the teams in the, you know, in the Atlantic.

04:08You know, I'm not kind of the Florida or Tampa or Toronto.

04:11Those teams may be in another league here.

04:13But I think the Rangers are ready to take that next step.

04:15So, the Kings, what are the chances that they can win enough games to avoid playing Edmonton in the first round, George?

04:26What do you think?

04:27Because I believe it's four straight years now that they haven't been able to get past Edmonton.

04:33But, I mean, listen, they've tweaked the roster here a little bit.

04:37It feels like a lot of the Colorado games are still going to be looking at the over.

04:41What do we get here tonight with the Kings and the Avs?

04:45The problem in the Western Conference is, let's just say for giggles, they don't play Edmonton in the first round.

04:50Well, you might get Colorado.

04:52You might get Vegas.

04:53You might get Dallas.

04:55I mean, the Western Conference is loaded.

04:58All right?

04:58But, yeah, I'm sure the Kings are like, anybody, anybody but McDavid and Drysdale.

05:02Please, the love of God.

05:04You know, those three teams I just mentioned, by the way, those are the cream of the crop, right?

05:07Three great teams there.

05:08The Kings are always in that next level down, right?

05:12Good team.

05:13Good, solid team.

05:14No obvious weaknesses, but not great in any one area either, right?

05:18You don't have Jonathan Quick in net.

05:19You haven't had him for years, so you don't have that ace goaltender.

05:21But you're good in net.

05:22Drew Dardy's getting older on defense.

05:24Good, solid D, but not that locked down D.

05:27And, you know, your offense, Kobe Dardy, he's getting up there in age.

05:30He's not the Hall of Famer he used to be.

05:33You don't really have anybody.

05:34You don't have that star player.

05:35There's no McKinnon.

05:35There's no McDavid.

05:36There's no Austin Matthews for the Kings.

05:38But they're a good, solid group that rolls line-to-line-to-line after you.

05:42So they need to play lower-scoring games.

05:44They do not want to get into a shootout with Colorado.

05:47And that's sort of what Colorado wants to do, right?

05:49Blackwood probably not playing in net tonight for Colorado.

05:52I kind of do like the Kings tonight in a lower-scoring game, 3-2.

05:56Not that I'm betting the under, but that's probably where I'm leaning towards this game.

06:00Maybe a little slower start for the Colorado Avalanche, another team that disappointed last year.

06:03So let's see you all.

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