NHL predictions – Tuesday, October 15:

It will be a very emotional night in Columbus for the Blue Jackets’ home opener. Home openers in any sport are normally a night of celebration, but tonight in Columbus it will be about honoring the memories of former Blue Jacket Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, who were killed this summer when they were struck by a vehicle while biking . The Florida Panthers are the Jackets’ opponent tonight. I haven’t heard if the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk, who has missed the last two games due to an illness, will be in attendance. Tkachuk and Gaudreau were good friends when they played together in Calgary.

Florida Panthers (-162, 6.5) at Columbus Blue Jackets

7:00 PM ET

First of all, I have to say that I feel a little uncomfortable proposing to bet on this game. I don’t want anyone to feel like I’m being insensitive. Emotions will be running high among Blue Jackets players and fans to come away with a win. The Panthers opened as a (-180) road favorite and we see the line shifting toward the home underdog Blue Jackets as Florida is now a (-162) favorite. Despite only receiving 15% of the bets, the Jackets get 44% of the money wagered, meaning low stakes and high dollars for the home team. Columbus is coming off a 6-4 win at Colorado after a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild to start their season.

Florida will once again be without star players Matthew Tkachuk (illness) and Sasha Barkov (lower-body injury). Sergei Bobrovsky started and won in Boston on Monday, so expect Spencer Knight between the pipes for the Cats.

The Jackets will look to take advantage of not only having a team missing two of its top players, but also playing games on back-to-back days and three games in four days.

Play: Blue Jackets (+136) – 1/2 unit

Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning (-135, 6.5)

7:00 PM ET

The Canucks have struggled to start the season with a pair of losses on home ice and now hit the road for the first of four road games. Vancouver picked up a pair of loser points in its losses with a shootout and overtime loss. The early season struggles can be attributed to both the injury to starting goaltender Thatcher Demko (lower body injury), who is out indefinitely, and the Canucks adjusting to having nine players in the lineup that wasn’t in last season’s team.

Expect goaltender Kevin Lankinen to get the start in Tampa. Lankinen was more than good on Saturday evening in his debut in Vancouver against the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2 shootout loss).

If history is any indication, Tampa isn’t the ideal opponent for Vancouver to get back into the win column. The Canucks have lost eight of their last 10 meetings with Tampa. The Bolts scored four or more goals in seven of eight wins.

Tampa is just one of three teams that have played just one game this season. The Lightning defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Over the past two seasons, the Lightning have scored four or more goals in 76 of their 91 wins. If you believe that Tampa is the good side in this game, as I do, you can get the team total on plus money instead of putting the (-135) on the moneyline.

Play: Lightning TT over 3.5 (+110) — 1 unit

Vegas Golden Knights (-135, 6) at the Washington Capitals

7:00 PM ET

The Golden Knights are a perfect 3-0 to start the season. Their top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev has six goals and 19 points, and they occupy three of the top nine spots in the NHL scoring race.

Expect former Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson to get the start for the Capitals. It appears the Golden Knights will start Aidan Hill and not former Caps goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who earned the win in his Vegas debut against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Fresh from being held without a shot on goal in the Capitals’ loss to the Devils on Saturday, Alexander Ovechkin resumes his quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s goalscoring record, leaving him 42 goals behind the ‘Great One’. Last season, Ovechkin was held without a shot on goal five times in a game. In his next match he finished with five, four, five, five and zero shots on target.

Playing: Alexander Ovechkin 4+ shots on target (+140) — 1 unit

New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes (-148.6)

7:00 PM ET

The Devils play their sixth game of the season tonight when they travel to Carolina. New Jersey is in a tough spot at the end of a back-to-back and its third game in four days. The Canes are playing only their second game of the season, as their previous game in Tampa was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.

Carolina suffers a rare home loss as betting favorites, falling to the Lightning 4-1. Over the past two seasons, Carolina was 55-28 as a home favorite and lost just once in a row in that role last season.

In the words of legendary football coach Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.” Still, I’m not sure what to think of the Devils, who have wins over Utah, Washington, two over the Buffalo Sabers and a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Carolina won the three meetings with Jersey last season and has won eight of the last ten. The Devils have improved greatly from last season and are my pick to win the Metropolitan Division, but I believe this is a situation that favors Carolina. The Canes opened as -145 favorites and have moved up to -166, taking 66% of the bets and 65% of the money wagered on the game.

Playing: Hurricanes ML (-166) – 1 unit

Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators (-162, 6)

8:00 PM ET

Nashville is looking for its first win of the season. The Predators suffered a 3-0 loss in Detroit in a game in which they were outscored by the Wings’ Cam Talbot, who stopped all 42 shots, including nine from Predators defenseman Roman Josi. When Talbot made no saves, his teammates blocked 34 shots. In all, Nashville had 89 shots aimed at the net, but couldn’t put a single one past Talbot.

The Kraken have just one win in their first three games. Seattle has scored just two goals combined in their two losses, compared to five goals in their only win of the season against the Minnesota Wild. Seattle has eight goals from five players, but is still waiting for Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick in 2021, to not only score a goal but also earn a point. It’s too early to panic, but Beniers failed to register a point in 51 of the 77 games he played last season.

Plays: Roman Josi over 3.5 shots on target (-110) – 1 unit

Predators (-115) to win by regulation – 1 unit

Note: If Philipp Grubauer is named the starter in goal for Seattle, I would add Josi for a goal anytime (+275). Josi scored seven goals in nine games against Grubauer.