Rangers to beat Senators 20/27
After starting the season with a pair of losses, the Rangers have rattled off three straight wins. In those victories, they often did just enough to win and got by on exceptional goaltending from Igor Shesterkin. The Senators, meanwhile, are 2-2-0 with each game being tight. So this should be a pretty solid Saturday afternoon tilt.
We don’t know the Rangers starter yet, but Shesterkin has been on absolute roll, appearing in four of the five games the team has played to date. He is 3-0-1 and has allowed just six goals total, with a .953 save percentage. He’s exceptional in every way and this is only his second full NHL season. If the 25-year-old Russian gets the net, and if he’s rolling they might as well stay with him, the Rangers are that much tougher to beat.
The Senators are still a pretty young team and it’s shown a bit in their first four games. It’s more experienced players that have handled most of the scoring so far with Chris Tierney, Tyler Ennis and Connor Brown each leading the way with three points apiece. Meanwhile, the return of Brady Tkachuk didn’t immediately pay off in the last game, but the 22-year-old winger looked more than ready to play after a late start with the club due to his prolonged contract negotiations.
The Rangers have the clear advantage in net and a lot more offensive pop in its lineup right now. I think New York is going to stay hot in Canada’s capital.
Capitals to beat Flames 4/6
A lot was made of Washington’s age coming into the season. They’re showing that experience counts a lot as they’ve been dominant in multiple games this season. The Caps are 3-0-1 with their lone loss coming to the defending Stanley Cup champs.
In their three wins, they’ve won by a minimum of three goals. Alex Ovechkin has eight points with four goals scored and the team’s goaltending has been adequate.
Calgary has points in two of its three games so far with an overtime loss to Anaheim and a 3-0 win over Detroit last week. The Capitals will pose a rather large challenge to a Flames team that is still trying to find its way without captain Mark Giordano, who is now a member of the Seattle Kraken. They’re getting solid contributions from stars like Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm, but Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund still haven’t hit the scoresheet.
The Caps just seem to have more guys going right now than Calgary does and also have the benefit of being on home ice.
Canadiens to beat Red Wings 5/9
The Red Wings have been better than expected, but will be missing their offensive leader any time they’re in Canada, including Saturday night against Montreal. Tyler Bertuzzi, who has six points in four games, which included a four-goal game on opening night, has refused the coronavirus vaccine and as a result cannot be allowed entry into Canada. That’s a big piece missing for the Red Wings in a critical early-season road trip.
The winless Montreal Canadiens are currently the only team in the NHL without a single standings point at 0-5-0 and will head on a four-game Western road swing after Saturday night’s contest at home. If there isn’t some level of desperation now, it’s going to be an awfully long year for a team that played in the Stanley Cup Final last summer. They simply cannot score goals right now.
Montreal has four goals over their first five games and have scored no more than one in any of them. They’ve lost four of their five games by two or more goals and aren’t even finding positives to hang their hat on. The Red Wings are not a deep team and are even less so with Bertuzzi sitting out. If they can’t find a win now, they might not for a while. I think they’ll get there.
Maple Leafs to beat Penguins 20/33
The Penguins are still without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who remain out with injury. It appears both are getting closer. Meanwhile, goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Jeff Carter are out due to COVID-19 protocols. It is unclear if Jarry will be able to be cleared in time for Saturday’s game.
No matter how you slice it, the Penguins are shorthanded and the Maple Leafs are mostly healthy for this one. The one benefit for Pittsburgh is that Toronto will be on the second half of back-to-back games and will be traveling from Toronto to Pittsburgh. That’s usually a good thing for the home team, but with the Maple Leafs healthier and it being early in the season yet, that may be a moot point, though Toronto did lose its second game of a back-to-back the opening week of the season.
Toronto has been given a boost, however, as Auston Matthews is back in the lineup. Mitch Marner has been abnormally quiet offensively, too. Those two are bound for a breakout and it could come as early as this weekend. Meanwhile, William Nylander and rookie Michael Bunting have helped pick up some of the slack offensively.
This should be a close game, but I think the Maple Leafs are a little deeper at this point and will be turning to Jack Campbell in net, too. He’s been reliable for them early this season.
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