NHL expert Matt DiLeo gives us his picks for the opening day of the 2019-20 NHL season.
Opening day is here! Wednesday October 2nd is the official first day of the 2019-20 season and the Senators will travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs in the first game of the year. There are only 4 games on this slate, with the majority of teams playing on Thursday instead. Here are the first 4 games of the season: Ottawa vs. Toronto, Washington vs. St. Louis, Vancouver vs. Edmonton, and San Jose vs. The Vegas Golden Knights. We don’t have much to choose from, but there are some great games! Let’s dive in.
Best Bets
The Maple Leafs are looking to start their Stanley Cup run early and the Senators are looking to be in the bottom half of the league yet again. The Maple Leafs are home and should be hungry after their game 7 loss to Boston last year. Take the Maple Leafs by -1.5 as they should cruise to their first win by more than 2 goals in my opinion.
The Golden Knights look to be favorites to win it all yet again and they are going to be hungry to get back there after they missed out last season. San Jose got the best of Vegas in 7 games in last year’s playoffs, but Vegas has had the whole offseason to get back on track and they should take care of business and taste some sweet revenge on their home ice.
The Oilers have the favorite to take home the Hart trophy in Connor McDavid and they could be a dark horse team this year. They aren’t talented enough to make the playoffs in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be an easy win; especially on their home ice. The Canucks were barely over .500 last year when they traveled to another arena. I’ll take the Oilers money line here.
