by Vegas Writer
Wednesday, Oct 09, 2024One day into the NHL season after Tuesday's tripleheader, and what I'm going to try to do for you throughout the week is take you on a "Morning Skate," recapping the night before and breaking down one game on that night's card. Let's get right into it.
Last night's RECAP:
Last night's RECAP:
- In front of a sold-out crowd at Delta Center, the Utah Hockey Club introduced itself to the NHL by earning a 5-2 win over Chicago. the UHC now head to the eastern time zone for three games in Long Island, Manhattan and New Jersey before closing the four-game trip in Anaheim. Starting Thursday, Utah will play its four road games over seven days.
- The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers delivered an exciting 6-4 win over Atlantic Division rival Boston behind a four-goal first period after watching their championship banner raised to the rafters at Amerant Bank Arena. The loss snapped Boston's five-year win streak with a win in its season-opener. The last time the Bruins lost their season-opener they responded with a win in their second game.
- Jordan Kyrou scored twice to propel the Blues to a multi-goal comeback win – the franchise’s fourth in a season opener – and improved to 4-0-2 in their past six season-opening contests. Make note, the Blues are 4-1 the following game after opening the season with a victory.
Tonight's FEATURED GAME (lines courtesy DraftKings):
Colorado at Vegas (-110, 6'u -120)
Both teams qualified for the postseason last year and represent an opening night matchup of two of the last three Stanley Cup champions.
The Avalanche's all-time record against the Golden Knights is 14-9-2. On the road, the Avs are 7-6-1 against Vegas. Last season, Colorado shut out the Knights 3-0 in their matchup in Denver (Jan. 10) but fell both times at T-Mobile Arena (0-1-1).
Colorado comes into tonight on a 4-1-1 run in Vegas. The Avs' most recent regular-season visit was a loss in Game 81 of the 2023-24 campaign. Tonight is their only trip there in the 2024-25 regular season.
The Avalanche opened the 2023-24 season with a 5-2 win over Los Angeles. It marked the third consecutive season that the Avs opened the campaign with a victory and seventh time in the last eight.
Vegas, meanwhile, opened last season by raising its championship banner after just six seasons in the league. It started the season 11-0-1, beginning with a 4-1 win over Seattle.
The Golden Knights will take a relatively new top line out for a spin tonight, with Jack Eichel centering a line between Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev. However, the player to watch on this team will be Pavel Dorofeyev, who will skate on the left wing of center Tomas Hertl and right wing Alexander Holtz.
Dorofeyev has impressed his teammates and coach Bruce Cassidy through training camp and the preseason and could be worth looking at as an anytime scorer.
PREDICTION: Bettors are generally tempted to play this Pacific Division rivalry high, but the average tally in the last 10 meetings landed on 5.0 goals per game. Seven of the last 10 meetings have stayed low, and I'm thinking this one will do the same.
