Golden Knights/Wild:

Today’s evening will feature a full card, and perhaps a matchup between two notable contenders will take place in St. Paul tonight. 

If you read my season win total predictions, you will know that I expect to see a lot more bumps and bruises for the Las Vegas Golden Knights this season. Their home opener this year really set a tone in a strong contrast to last season, as they were pummeled 5-2 by the Philadelphia Flyers. Today, they look for a better fate against the Minnesota Wild tonight, in one of the most hostile venues in hockey. 

Self proclaimed as the State of Hockey, the Wild have been notorious for home dominance over the years. This season, they come into their home opener with a rebound approach after being beat 4-1 in Colorado in their season debut. 

While Minnesota looked a little rusty in offensive system gel, Devan Dubnyk looked very sharp in net last game. I expect the Wild to be more settled coming into this one, as Vegas still has some work to do to find their groove. 

Wild moneyline  -120  1*

Flyers/Avalanche:

Today’s matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche will feature two run and gun teams from opposite conferences. 

Both clubs play a high octane style, but unfortunately there is only one team who will have an advantage in that altitude. That would be the host Colorado Avalanche. 

With Colorado forwards getting off on the right foot, I expect them to have the upper hand in conditioning, and I expect them to keep the pressure going. The Flyers saw Brian Elliot get peppered with quality chances in the first game as well, and will likely have to sustain a storm of even sharper shooters today. 

Avalanche moneyline -115   1*