Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – October 8th Edition

The 2018-19 regular season in the National Hockey League got underway last week, and a 7-6 overtime win for Pittsburgh over the Washington Capitals just showed the sort of frenetic energy and excitement that ice hockey can be all about. All of the league’s teams have won games except Florida, Detroit, the New York Rangers, Minnesota, St. Louis, Edmonton and Arizona, and Dallas leads the league in goal differential with a +7 mark through just two games. Let’s take a look at three primo NHL betting picks from the rink for the week ahead.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – October 8th Edition

Of course it’s too early to rank NHL teams based on one or two games. But that’s half the fun, writes @DownGoesBrown. https://t.co/dhPWGfpJm6

— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 8, 2018

Tuesday, October 9

Toronto at Dallas (8:30pm ET)

The young Toronto Maple Leafs are definitely a symbol of the speed movement that has made offense the defining trend of the new season. They are scoring 4.3 goals per game through three contests, including a 7-6 overtime win in Chicago on Sunday. They are scoring on 42.9 percent of their power plays — a white-hot number that ranks just third in the league. They also give up a ton of goals — also 4.3 — although they are stout on the penalty kill so far, stopping 88.9% of opposition man advantages. They’re already getting their money’s worth out of John Tavares, as he netted a hat trick against the Blackhawks. Their hosts in Dallas are tied with them in power play conversion, but the Stars have allowed just one goal in two games — including a 5-1 shellacking of the Winnipeg Jets, whom many have picked to win the West this year. The Stars have not yet permitted a power play goal, and they’re scoring at a healthy 4.0 goals per game average, eighth overall. Captain Jamie Benn is upping his game to take the challenge of having Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza on his offense, scoring twice in the Saturday win. I like the young Leafs, but I also like the stout defense Dallas is playing out of the chute. NHL Betting Prediction: Dallas 4, Toronto 2

Wednesday, October 10

Vegas at Washington (8:00pm ET, NBC Sports)

We get the rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night, and the Vegas Golden Knights have not turned their offense on yet. They scored once in a loss in their opener and then added a second in Minnesota on Saturday before winning 2-1 in a shootout. They are permitting 3.0 goals per game, about in the middle of the league, but they have not yet converted a power play and are letting opponents convert 83.3% of their man advantages. That furious offense that the Golden Knights showed last year needs to return for them to contend again. The Capitals have scored 13 goals in two games but only have three points to show, as they lost 7-6 in overtime in Pittsburgh on Thursday, a night after routing the Boston Bruins, 7-0. Their 6.5 goals per game (admittedly a small sample) is tops in the NHL, and they are converting half of their power play opportunities. The defense (3.5 goals allowed per game, 18th overall) and the penalty kill (75%, 20th overall) were stellar against the Bruins and then porous against the Penguins. Stanley Cup hangover is a powerful force, but the Caps seem to be ahead of the Golden Knights. NHL Betting Prediction: Washington 5, Vegas 2

Thursday, October 11

Winnipeg at Nashville (8:00pm ET, ESPN+)

Winnipeg opened their season on th road, taking a 5-1 decision in St. Louis before falling by the same score in Dallas two nights later. They head home to face the Los Angeles Kings and then head out for what is a brutal travel schedule before a six-game home stand, going down to Nashville on Thursday night. When things are on for the Jets, they score in bunches and defend well on the back end, and when they’re not, they get exposed in the back and can’t move the puck forward. We’ve seen one game of each type from them thus far. They head to Nashville to take on a Predators team that is 2-0-0 on the young season, including a 4-3 win in New York over the Islanders on Saturday. They are scoring “just” 3.5 goals per game but are only permitting 2.5. Their power play is still looking for its first goal, which will help as they are a team that thrives on capitalizing on the mistakes of the opposition. Given their good start and the crazy travel schedule of the Jets, I see Nashville taking advantage of some fatigue. NHL Betting Prediction: Nashville 3, Winnipeg 1