NHL Predictions: Expert Picks on Tuesday, October 15th

NHL Predictions – Tuesday, October 15:

It will be a very emotional evening in Columbus for the Blue Jackets' home opener. Home openers in any sport are usually a night of celebration, but tonight in Columbus it's about honoring the memories of former Blue Jacket Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who died this summer when they were struck by a vehicle while riding their bikes were approached. The Florida Panthers are the Jackets' opponent tonight. I haven't heard if the Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the last two games due to illness, will be in attendance. Tkachuk and Gaudreau were close friends when they played together in Calgary.

Florida Panthers (-162, 6.5) at Columbus Blue Jackets

7pm ET

First of all, I have to say that I feel a little uncomfortable suggesting bets on this game. I don't want anyone to feel like I'm insensitive. Emotions will run high among the Blue Jackets players and fans if they get a win. The Panthers entered the lineup as the away favorite (-180) and we see the line shifting toward the home underdog Blue Jackets as Florida is now the favorite (-162). Although the Jackets only take 15% of the bets, they receive 44% of the money wagered, meaning low bets and high amounts for the home team. Columbus earned a 6-4 win at Colorado earlier in the season after a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Florida will once again be without star players Matthew Tkachuk (illness) and Sasha Barkov (lower body injury). Sergei Bobrovsky started and won on Monday in Boston. So expect to see Spencer Knight between the pipes for the Cats.

The Jackets will look to not only take advantage of a team missing two of their best players, but also playing games on consecutive days and three games in four days.

Play: Blue Jackets (+136) – 1/2 unit

Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning (-135, 6.5)

7pm ET

The Canucks have struggled from the start, starting the season with two losses on home ice, and now face the first of four away games. Vancouver scored two loser's points in its losses with a shootout and an overtime loss. The early season issues stem from both the injury to starting goaltender Thatcher Demko (lower body injury), which is out indefinitely, and the Canucks getting used to having nine players in the lineup last season weren't on the team.

Expect goaltender Kevin Lankinen to be a starter in Tampa. Lankinen was more than good in his debut in Vancouver on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2 penalty shootout loss).

As history has shown, Tampa is not the ideal opponent for Vancouver to get back on the winning list. The Canucks have lost eight of their last ten meetings with Tampa. The Bolts have scored four or more goals in seven of the eight wins.

Tampa is just one of three teams to have played just one game this season. The Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Over the last two seasons, the Lightning have scored four goals or more in 76 of their 91 wins. If you believe Tampa is the right team in this game, as I do, you can put the team total on plus money instead of putting (-135) on the money line.

Play: Lightning TT over 3.5 (+110) – 1 unit

Vegas Golden Knights (-135, 6) at Washington Capitals

7pm ET

The Golden Knights are starting the season with a perfect 3-0. Their top team of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev have six goals and 19 points and occupy three of the top nine spots in the NHL scoring race.

Expect former Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson to take over as the starting quarterback for the Capitals. It looks like the Golden Knights will start with Aidan Hill rather than former Caps goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who earned the win in his Las Vegas debut against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Alexander Ovechkin, who went scoreless in the Capitals' loss to the Devils on Saturday, continues his quest to improve Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record by moving 42 goals behind the Great One. Ovechkin went without a shot on goal in a game five times last season. In his next game he finished with five, four, five, five and zero shots on goal.

Game: Alexander Ovechkin 4+ shots on goal (+140) – 1 unit

New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes (-148.6)

7pm ET

The Devils will play their sixth game of the season tonight when they travel to Carolina. New Jersey finds itself in a difficult situation at the end of a back-to-back game and its third game in four days. The Canes are playing just their second game of the season as their previous game in Tampa was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.

As the betting favorite, Carolina suffered a rare home defeat and lost to the Lightning 4-1. Over the past two seasons, Carolina has been the home favorite at 55-28, and last season they lost just one straight game in that role.

In the words of legendary football coach Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says.” Still, I'm not sure what to think of the Devils, wins over Utah and Washington, two over the Buffalo Sabres and have a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Carolina won the three meetings with Jersey last season and has won eight of the last ten. The Devils have improved tremendously from last season and are my pick to win the Metropolitan Division, but I believe this is a situational situation that favors Carolina. The Canes entered the game as -145 favorites and were bumped up to -166, receiving 66% of the bets and 65% of the money staked on the game.

Play: Hurricanes ML (-166) – 1 unit

Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators (-162, 6)

8pm ET

Nashville is looking for its first win of the season. The Predators are coming off a 3-0 loss in Detroit, in a game in which they were “targeted” by the Wings' Cam Talbot, who stopped all 42 shots, including nine from Predators defenseman Roman Josi. When Talbot made no saves, his teammates blocked 34 shots. In total, Nashville had 89 shots on net but couldn't get a single one past Talbot.

The Kraken have only managed one win in their first three games. Seattle has scored just two goals total in its two losses, compared to five goals in its only win of the season against the Minnesota Wild. Seattle has eight goals from five players, but is still waiting for Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick in 2021, to not only score a goal but also get a point. It's too early to panic, but last season Beniers failed to record a point in 51 of his 77 games.

Plays: Roman Josi over 3.5 shots on goal (-110) – 1 unit

Predators (-115) regular season wins – 1 unit

Note: If Philipp Grubauer is named the starter in goal for Seattle, I would add Josi for a goal at any time (+275). Josi scored seven goals in nine games against Grubauer.