Written by Scott on Tuesday, October 7th, 2025
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Hello folks and welcome to the start of the 2025-26 season. Its been a long wait but we are finally here. No more sleeps!
Plenty of moves happened during the off-season and it will be interesting to see how the moves work for each team.
The Panthers are again one of the favourites to win it all and go for a three-peat. They have played so much hockey over the past 2 seasons that you have to wonder if fatigue will catch up to them.
Only 3 games today which is fine as it’s going to be tricky to try and predict the outcome of games at the beginning of the seaon with basically nothing to use as a reference.
Blackhawks vs Panthers
The Hawks did nothing in the off-season and it looks like it’s going to be another long season for them and their fans. It sucks as Bedard needs help.
The Panthers, as mentioned, are coming off of winning back to back Stanley Cups. They are a stacked team and still have no real weaknesses.
The odds have the Panthers as the big time favorites here. To get any value we would have to take them -1.5. It isn’t that hard to see it happening especially with them at home.
The Hawks have finished 2nd last overall in the league in the past 2 seasons where the Panthers have won the Cup. With nothing else to go off of I could see the Panthers covering that. But Barkov and Tkachuk are out and their depth will be tested. They will have to find a way to win without them so the Hawks are a good team for them to do that but I want to see how the play without those two.
Penguins vs Rangers
The Penguins are expected to be bad this season. But they still have Malkin, Crosby and Letang so it’s hard to count them out as they are incredible players and will walk into the hall of fame without question.
The Rangers lost some players and didn’t replace them so they will probably take a step back this season. They still have a solid offense and Shesterkin gives them a chance to win each game.
Would have to take the Rangers in regulation and that just barely gets over our 1.70 minimum. I just don’t see the value in the first game of the season.
Avalanche vs Kings
The Avalanche are a contender this year much like they have been for a while now. MacKinnon, Landeskog, Makar, Necas they shouldn’t have any troubles scoring goals. It’s just keeping them out may be an issue.
The Kings are a team that see the core getting older and will need to have Kopitar and Doughty pass the torch onto Byfield and the others.
Blackwood is hurt and won’t be playing so they Avs are already at a disadvantage. This early in the season I see this as a coin flip and I’m just going to pass.
Sorry folks, I won’t have any tips today. It’s just really tough with this being the first games of the season.
A quick note that last season after many years of not doing so, I started using pre-season advanced metric data “just to see” how things would go, and I was quite happy with the results in terms of W/L although I’d stay away from O/U.
Nothing official but looking at the 3 games:
– Not seeing anything much in Blackhawks/Panthers. Does look like the sorta game Panthers win by 1 or 2.
– Penguins game looks a lot closer than the books have it, and could be ripe for an upset.
– Tough one to call. Lopsided in different areas across the board. I think I’d lean Kings.
Anyway until I get enough real data I’ll incorporate these into my own tips posts, and comment on Scotts just for additional content and we can see whether it is worth tracking pre-season data or if it is junk 🙂
I play a 3-way game @4,70x
Rangers in Regulation
Both team to score 2 goals in both of the other matches.
Just a little bet to enjoy the first round.
Chicago – Florida
While the home team boasts a roster of stars and unquestionable potential, the preseason hasn’t exactly gone their way. Florida has won only three of seven games.
The team will also be without its two most important players – Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov – for a significant portion of the regular season, which poses a significant challenge for the entire organization.
On paper, the Blackhawks have a weaker team and obviously have less potential than their nearest opponent.
Today’s match will be especially meaningful for Chicago Blackhawks goalie – Spencer Knight, who will be lining up against his former team.
Knight, who was recently considered the future of the Panthers in goal, will now face the team where he spent the early years of his professional career.
Under 5.5 goals without OT
I am leaning to no bets due to: I NEED MORE DATA!
These games will be helpful for figuring out what these teams ARE this year, but pre-game, it’s all wild guessing.
1) Chicago can play very well at times, the Panthers have a pre-game ceremony (I read somewhere), and that always goes bad for the home team, plus Barkov and Tkachuk out and it’s Game 1 of the season, so while I think an eager Chicago upset (or +1.5) is possible, too much is up in the air, including the O/U. Chicago could win or lose 6-2.
2) Penguins and Rangers. I don’t bet on Penguins games, but now they are consistently bad, and if the Rangers take a step back after their top players had a disappointing season, they could be weak this year, so the game is unpredictable all around. Could go 7-4 or 3-1.
3) I find Colorado highly risky to bet on, you have to watch the schedule to tap into player motivation/exhaustion sort of things. Game 1, against the Kings, who will be seeking to rise in the rankings, likely means a good hockey game to watch.
NOTE: I did see a few interesting prop bet ideas out there, but it being Game 1 with these uncertainties, I’m not going for props.