Senators moneyline +257  0.5*

Ok, I am starting the season with a leap of faith here.

I am either going to look like a genius for this one, or I am going to look like a complete idiot. Either way, it’s going to be just half a unit at risk.

First off, let me just get this out of the way so that nobody thinks that I am delusional. I am well aware that the Ottawa Senators have a very high chance of finishing last place this season, and I also believe it is a likely outcome. I am also well aware that the Toronto Maple Leafs have arguably the deepest offense in hockey, and should be in high contender conversations once again this season.

However, thank god this is not a season bet. The Ottawa Senators won 3 out of 4 meetings last season, in a similar caliber situations. This goes to show that the compete nature is there when they are playing the hated rival Toronto Maple Leafs. On top of that, neither team will be up to form on opening night. Skill potential is definitely nowhere near as relevant in the first week as it is in mid season.

At the end of the day though, this is just a phenomenal value situation with low risk and high pay. It is better to jump on these now over any other time in the season. To me, a division rivalry with this much hype is always worth a shot at that value. We will also likely know very early if we are going to lose this one, so there shouldn’t be too much stress involved with this 0.5 unit bet.

Capitals moneyline +133  1*

First off, I am sure everyone is aware of the situation here.

I don’t even need to get into what winning the Stanley Cup meant for the City of St. Louis, and how much this first game means from a pretentious standpoint. There will be people on two sides here: Those who believe in the Stanley Cup hangover, and those who believe that the Blues will feed off the emotions of the Cup festivities tonight.

For me, I’m just going where the value is. Looking back the past decade, there is no distinct pattern for either of the theories mentioned above.

To me, this is simply going to be a matchup between two very elite teams with very established rosters and systems. In other words at this point of the season, a coin flip. Let’s get our money’s worth for it.