The NHL season is finally starting in North America and there are two dynamic matchups that should have everyone’s attention. In case you missed it — which, understandable — the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks officially opened the NHL season with two games in Prague, Czech Republic. The Preds won both matchups, scoring a combined seven goals.
The first tilt of tonight’s evening slate is an Eastern Conference Finals rematch which features the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. It will be a fantastic goalie duel between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin as well.
We go out west for a Pacific Division matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights. The Kings are a team full of potential while the Golden Knights have their eyes set on the Stanley Cup.
You have seen our predictions for the over/under totals for team points and now you’ll get a couple of best bets for tonight’s games. Let’s get to it.
Lightning-Rangers: Under 5.5 (-110)
Taking the under in any sport can sometimes be a weird way to watch a game, but it’s the smart play with these two outstanding goalies.
Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy are Vezina Trophy winners so you know they’ll be amped for this contest.
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy last season and posted a 2.07 goals against average. He also recorded a jaw-dropping seven shutouts and was consistently keeping his team in games.
Looking forward to more Igor Shesterkin saves like this one during next season. 😤 pic.twitter.com/5SiVhRWpfq
— NHL (@NHL) August 24, 2022
Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in 2019 and was a key cog in the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. He has tallied at least six shutouts in six straight seasons. The netminder recorded a .916 save percentage and a 2.49 GAA last year.
Golden Knights-Kings: Kings ML (-117)
The Los Angeles Kings are a team that has a lot of young talent, and I think they’ll take advantage of a Golden Knights team with shaky goaltending. The Kings start the season at home and there’s no chance of the “Vegas Flu” impacting their first regular season game of the year.
Jonathan Quick with the NO GLOVE save 😳 pic.twitter.com/6hf61HQPTL
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) May 9, 2022
Stanley Cup champ Jonathan Quick gets the start for the Kings while Logan Thompson is in between the pipes for Vegas. Thompson has lost four of his last five starts as well.
The Kings are 2-2 in their last four matchups with the Golden Knights. I’m going with the home-ice advantage and a proven netminder in this game.
Anze Kopitar anytime goal (+275)
I’m going with the veteran and captain of the Kings to score in the first regular season game. Anze Kopitar potted 11 goals in 41 home games last season and should see a ton of time on the Kings’ power play units.
He also has had a lot of success against the Golden Knights. Kopitar tallied three goals and five helpers in four games against Vegas last season.
Dear @NHL,
This is Anze Kopitar.
He is very good at hockey.Here is a video of Kopitar scoring a goal against [Las] Vegas.
He should probably get some awards.Love,@LAKings pic.twitter.com/paZfiLrfmB
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 28, 2018
Lock this bet in and when you see him get the puck, just say “SHOOOT”. Kopitar gets a ton of ice time so plenty of chances to go bar down against the Golden Knights.
