by Vegas Writer
Thursday, Oct 10, 2024Thursday's edition of the "Morning Skate" comes after a wild Wednesday of scoring, where four of the winning teams from the five games played scored six or more goals. In all, 36 goals were scored in the five games - an average of 7.2 per game.
Last night's RECAP:
Last night's RECAP:
- Connor Zary scored an overtime winner in an 11-goal, back-and-forth barnburner, as the Calgary Flames became the sixth team in 37 years to record a three-goal comeback victory in a season opener. Calgary went into Vancouver and won, 6-5.
- Jack Eichel was a factor in half of Vegas' eight goals as the Golden Knights were near brilliant while matching a franchise record for goals in a game while Colorado's Mikko Rantanen registered the eighth hat trick of his career. The Knights beat Colorado, 8-4.
- Montreal Canadiens netminder Sam Montembeault set an NHL mark for saves in a season-opening shutout while becoming the first goaltender to hold the Toronto Maple Leafs off the scoreboard in nearly three years. The Habs beat the Leafs, 1-0.
Through the first two nights:
- Favorites are 4-4
- Overs are 4-2-2
Tonight's FEATURED GAME (lines courtesy DraftKings):
Dallas (-120, 6o -122) at Nashville
The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators renew their Central Division rivalry as we have a pair of highly anticipated debuts taking place in this nationally televised game.
The Predators welcomed Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to town, and both are expected to make their Nashville debut.
The Preds bolstered their roster with the offseason acquisitions of a two-time Stanley Cup champion and Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner in Steven Stamkos, and the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner in Jonathan Marchessault.
Stamkos will be playing his first-ever NHL game away from Tampa Bay, where he played 16 seasons. Marchessault joins the Predators after spending seven seasons with the Golden Knights.
Both players finished their previous club’s tenure atop their all-time goals, points and multi-goal games list.
Then there's the Stars, who are favored by many to win the Stanley Cup this season. And they should have plenty of confidence coming into this one, as the Stars have won their last four games played in Nashville, outscoring the Preds, 19-7 in those games.
Fact is, the Stars boast tremendous balance, have stellar coaching, top-notch goaltending, and solid blueliners.
Are they a different team than the ones that made the Western Conference Final in each of the past two seasons? Absolutely. But we've yet to see Dallas hit its peak under coach Pete DeBoer.
PREDICTION: The betting market moved this line from Nashville -115 to Dallas -115. The Stars will eventually emerge as the better team by season's end. But the Preds will be a menace with their newest scorers in town. Tonight they'll want to set the tone with a season-opening win in front of the home crowd. I wouldn't be surprised to see this game go into overtime, but what I really like is Marchessault to be an anytime scorer, and think that is a value investment.
