| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Last 30 Days | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Season to Date | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All plays are 2 units unless otherwise stated
DALLAS +102 over Chicago
OT included. In only a year and a half on the job, Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill (he was the mastermind in the building of the Red Wings) has done an outstanding job of rebuilding the Stars team into a contender. It began last year with the acquisition of Tyler Seguin. Nill also pulled off a great trade by acquiring Jason Spezza from Ottawa in exchange for Alex Chaisson. Nill also acquired Ales Hemsky and all he did was put up 17 points in 20 games after joining Dallas. Those players will also be surrounded by emerging stars such as Valeri Nichushkin, Antoine Roussel, Ryan Garbutt, and Cody Eakin. The veteran presence will be there as well with Erik Cole, Vernon Fiddler and Shawn Horcoff. The Stars defense is solid and getting better. Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley will log plenty of minutes. Jordie Benn should see additional ice time as he continues to develop and the same goes for Brenden Dillon. Sergei Gonchar remains a veteran presence that is vital to the development of younger guys and although his minutes will be reduced, he’s been around long enough to be a real asset. Dallas is locked and loaded and this could be the year they change the power landscape in the West.
The Blackhawks need no introductions. They are a strong team that will remain strong with the core pieces still in place. They have been a strong Cup Contender for several years now and they figure to be contender again this year. This one is not about fading Chicago. This one is all about Dallas setting the bar for themselves at a high level. The Stars have to establish their home as one of the most difficult places to play like the rest of the juggernauts. San Jose, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, St. Louis and Detroit in their heyday all made it a living hell for the opposition to come in and leave with a win. If Dallas is serious about being a contender they have to establish that too and it must start here on opening night and we’ll put that to the test right away.
New Jersey +106 over PHILADELPHIA
OT included. The Flyers played last night in Boston and while they were close, losing 2-1, their time in the offensive zone was weak. In fact, the Flyers mustered a measly 20 shots on net while being outshot by twice as many in both the first and third periods. The Flyers switched coaches at the start of last year because of a poor start but truth be told, Craig Berube hasn’t shown us anything different than what was deemed to be unacceptable from Peter Laviolette’s style of play. Philadelphia is underwhelming in so many ways, especially on defense where they possess at least three different players that can’t move the puck out in Mark Streit, Andrew MacDonald and Brayden Coburn. Michael Del Zotto adds some offensive firepower to the blue-line but he, too, is weak defensively.
The market has all but forgotten about the Devils. They were projected to win 36 or 37 games this year by that same market (total wins for season was 36½), which was less than the Maple Leafs total wins posted total of 38. That said, let us remind you that Marty Brodeur started 39 games a year ago and the Devils lost 18 games in extra time and missed the playoffs by five points. That’s no longer an issue, as Cory Schneider will carry a heavy workload and may turn out to be one of the best in the business. Furthermore, the Devils allowed the least amount of shots in the entire league last year, which is a true testament to their ability to stay the course and allow the opposition to make mistakes. Last year it was a case of one soft goal after another. Rarely did the Devils get out-played for long stretches and this year they are better. You are going to read about how this team cannot score goals but that’s not their style. Besides, they aren’t going to be as offensively challenged as advertised. They have some firepower with Adam Henrique (who missed a lot of time last year), Mike Cammalleri, Michael Ryder and of course the ageless Jaromir Jagr, who can still play at a very high level. The Devils come in this year more under the radar than they’ve been in a very long time. We’re suggesting that they will be one of the top teams in the East and certainly and one of this year’s early surprises. We’re glad to back them as a pooch almost anytime and make no exceptions here against this very beatable Philly club.
EDMONTON -½ +111 over Calgary
Regulation only. The Flames were outclassed and out-worked last night at home in its opener against the Canucks. They figure to be a bit better tonight but they could not shut down or contain the Canucks best line Henrik, Daniel and Radim Vrbata and they must now deal with much more firepower than that. Vancouver’s top line made the Flames look like school children and that’s a huge concern that is not going to be fixed overnight.
The knock on the Oilers has been a team with top-end talent that never deliver the goods. Edmonton has at least three all-stars (Eberle, Hall, and Nugent-Hopkins) that can all dazzle. The Oilers aslo picked up Teddy Purcell from the Bolts and a bounce back from Neil Yakupov is not out of the question. That kid has talent too. Statistically, however, they were not a strong team because of a weak defense and very inconsistent goaltending. Those areas needed a big fix and the Oilers addressed it by picking up Ben Scrivens last year. Although Scrivens only played with Edmonton for a short while last season, the amount of success he saw in that short period was encouraging. Scrivens managed to post a 3.01 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage. Defensively, Edmonton acquired Mark Fayne from the Devils. Fayne will be a great fit into Edmonton’s defense, as he is a big presence, he’s reliable and he comes from a great defensive system in New Jersey. Despite struggling with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, Nikita Nikitin is expected to be a low risk/high-reward player. Nikitin has a great shot and is backed up with strong skating skills. These new defensemen, in addition to the strong players the Oilers already have, like Andrew Ference and Justin Schultz create a great situation for the Oilers to keep pressure off their goaltenders. Once again the Oilers have great promise. A loss here to the Flames would put a huge dent in that promise. The Oilers have to set a tone and they have to beat teams they are capable of beating otherwise the stench of underachieving will permeate quickly. We’re trusting that they come out strong tonight in their opener and avoid all the “here we go again” talk.
