It might seem that we just crowned a Stanley Cup champion, as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars to bring the 2019-20 season to a close. Now, though, the 56-game 2021 season is set to start, with the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers in the very first regular season game. The Penguins had a disappointing season, as the era of Sidney Crosby may be coming to a close, while the young Flyers showed that they are ready to contend in this league.
Check out our NHL betting preview of this season’s first tilt.
NHL Season Opener: Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (January 13)
When: Wednesday, January 13, 2020, 5:30 pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV: NBC Sports
Radio: No National Radio
Live Stream: Hulu
Why should you bet on the Penguins?
The top six forwards that the Penguins have are a talented and deep group, and the top four defensemen are also solid. However, the checking lines and the depth defensemen represent a significant drop-off. The line of Zach Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev will be an important one to watch, as they do well shutting down opposing scorers, but they have not yet shown a lot of offensive prowess. Pittsburgh will have to decide whether to let the two scoring lines play more and then rely on this line just for defense. The lack of depth is an issue — as is the power play, which was only 16th in the NHL last season.
Pittsburgh will rely on Tristan Jarry, who has shown skill in net, but it remains to be seen how he will respond as the team’s #1 goalie, the first time he’s ever had to be “the guy” for an NHL franchise. His puck handling is solid for a goalie, and reports out of training camp indicate that he has been preparing and playing well. This could represent an improvement from the aura that seemed to surround Matt Murray, who always seemed on the verge of disaster. In his last nine playoff games, he went just 1-8 and lost three straight playoff series. Jarry could turn that around and make this a great season for the Pens.
Why should you put your money on the Flyers?
Losing to the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs was a bit of a surprise, given how hard the Islanders had to work to generate offense, but it gave the Flyers a bit of a lesson for the offseason. On defense, they have seven players who got into at least 40 NHL games a year ago, including new free agent signing Erik Gustafsson. He will likely pair with Ivan Provorov, while Philippe Myers, who was the second-best rookie blueliner a year ago in plus/minus (+17), will go with Travis Sanheim on the second pair. Robert Hagg, Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Braun will scrap for the third pairing on what should be a deep crew.
The power play also needs to improve in Philadelphia, as they were 14th on the job during the regular season, but they were 23rd of the 24 playoff teams, converting just 7.7 percent of chances, with an 0-for-13 coming out of their seven-game conference semifinal loss to the Isles. James van Riemsdyk had a drought, with 66 power play goals since the 2009-10 season, but he only had four goals with the man advantage a year ago. Another interesting player is center Kevin Hayes, who led the Flyers in postseason scoring with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in their 16 games in the bubble. He should be on the second line at even strength.
Final Score and Prediction
It’s hard to tell what will happen without the benefit of any preseason games, and with COVID-19 already forcing postponements, keep an eye on which players go down to infection or contact tracing. Philadelphia has youth and motivation, while the Penguins may be a bit behind them on the rebuild curve. I like the Flyers to win, 3-2.
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