Welcome back to the Last Word on Hockey team’s daily NHL Predictions series. Every morning, we publish articles breaking down and predicting every game on the NHL schedule. This article will cover the early-start games for the night, but you can find the later games right here. Tonight’s featured matchup sees the Montreal Canadiens take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in their first meeting of the season.
NHL Predictions
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
Head-to-Head: Lightning 1-1 Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have split their season series with the Florida Panthers so far. They trounced the Panthers 5-2 at home back on October 3rd but dropped a decision in Sunrise two days later, 4-3. The Lightning offence has been ‘En Fuego,’ maintaining a pace of 3.74 goals per game (GF/GP), good enough for first in the league. Their defence has been troubling, though, ranking at only 23rd with 3.22 goals allowed per game (GA/GP). Their special teams have been good — their power play follows in the steps of their even-strength offence, second at a 30 percent success rate. The Lightning penalty kill is average, however, 18th in the league at 79.3 percent.
Winger Nikita Kucherov leads the team in scoring with 31 points, and he’s tied for the team lead in goals with 10 with Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy has played poorly by his standards, posting an 11-8-1 record supplemented by a .907 save percentage and 2.91 goals-against average (GAA).
Florida Panthers
Florida is feeling good after a masterful 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks Sunday, and are only missing Jayce Hawryluk from the lineup. He should be returning very soon, however. This should be a high-powered game as the Panthers have a stellar offence as well, fourth in the league with 3.52 GF/GP. Similar to the Lightning, their defence is much worse, 27th in the league at 3.31 GA/GP. However, both the Panthers’ special teams have been very good. Their power play ranks sixth with a 24.2 percent success rate, and their penalty kill ranks fourth with an 84.7 percent success rate.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov are tied for the team lead in points with 36, and free-agent acquisition and former Lightning Brett Connolly leads the team in goals with 14. The two Florida teams will have a high-energy, high-powered matchup, but the Lightning will take advantage in the end and eke out a win.
Prediction: Lightning win 5-4.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Canadiens 0-0 Penguins
This is tonight’s featured matchup for our early games. You can find the late-game slate here.
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs are coming off a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers back on Friday. They got goals from Brendan Gallagher and Nate Thompson, and Carey Price played a near-perfect game. They’re pretty banged up right now, and they’ll be without Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Victor Mete, and possibly Jesperi Kotkaniemi for tonight’s game. Their offence has been good but not great, netting 3.17 GF/GP (11th in the league), while their defence has been among the league’s worst (3.37 GA/GP, 28th in the league). Their penalty kill has been equally as bad, also 28th at a 75.5 percent success rate, but their power play has been slightly better, 16th in the league at 19 percent.
They’re led in scoring by Tomas Tatar, who’s got 25 points in 30 games. Gallagher leads them in goals with 13. Price has started to see an uptick in his game after a rough stretch, bringing him to a 12-9-3 record with a .902 save percentage and 3.04 GAA.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Saturday, getting goals from Jake Guentzel, Chad Ruhwedel, Evgeni Malkin, Dominik Kahun, and John Marino. The injury list is comparatively large at the moment, as Nick Bjugstad, Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin, and Patric Hornqvist are out of the lineup. Their offence has found a way to still be great, sixth in the league with 3.40 GF/GP. Their defence has been remarkably solid as well, eighth with 2.70 GA/GP. This is all despite an uncharacteristically poor power play, 23rd in the league with a 16.1 percent success rate. Penalty killing has been ‘meh,’ 13th in the league with an 81.9 percent kill rate.
Guentzel has taken advantage of all the injuries to lead the team in scoring with 31 points. He’s also the team’s only double-digit scorer with 16 goals. Starter Matt Murray has had some pretty rough outings, posting a 10-5-4 record but only a .897 save percentage and 2.85 GAA. However, Pittsburgh’s deep offence will take advantage of a banged-up Habs team and get a win at home.
Prediction: Penguins win 3-1.
St. Louis Blues vs. Buffalo Sabres
Head-to-Head: Blues 0-0 Sabres
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are trying to redeem themselves after a 5-2 beatdown at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Ivan Barbashev and David Perron got their goals. St. Louis is as injured as anyone, as they’re missing Sammy Blais, Alex Steen, Oskar Sundqvist, Vladimir Tarasenko, and possibly Zach Sanford. The Blues have been in the middle of the pack offensively, 16th with 2.97 GF/GP. They’ve been among the best defensively, however, fifth with 2.58 GA/GP. Their power play is good, seventh at a 22.7 percent conversion rate. Penalty killing has been solid, too, 11th with an 83.1 percent success rate.
The veteran Perron leads the team in scoring with 29 points, and Brayden Schenn leads them in goals with 14. Starter Jordan Binnington has been good this season, posting a 13-6-4 record with a .921 save percentage and 2.45 GAA.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres won their last game against the Edmonton Oilers in overtime 3-2 on Sunday. They got goals from Kyle Okposo, Johan Larsson, and Colin Miller. They enter tonight’s match with an injury list that includes Rasmus Dahlin, Vladimir Sobotka, and Tage Thompson. The Sabres are 14th in goals per game with 3.06 and 18th in goals against per game with 3.03. Concerningly, their power play is 20th in the league at 17.8 percent. Their penalty kill is even worse, as they’re 30th in the league with a 73.4 percent success rate.
They’re led in scoring by Jack Eichel, as he’s got 18 goals and 42 points in just 31 games. He also leads the team in goals. Linus Ullmark has seemingly taken over the starters’ crease, tallying an 8-6-2 record with a 2.88 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Buffalo has strung some wins together lately and will get another one as the Blues enter a skid.
Prediction: Sabres win 4-3.
San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators
Head-to-Head: Sharks 0-0 Predators
San Jose Sharks
San Jose has had some poor games recently, especially their 5-1 loss to the Panthers. The lone goal was from Kevin Labanc. They’re 22nd in goals per game with 2.69, and 29th in goals against per game with 3.44. San Jose’s power play is sitting at 22nd in the league at a 16.7 percent rate of success, yet their penalty kill is first in the league at 88.5 percent.
Captain Logan Couture continues his strong play as he leads the Sharks in points with 29, but Evander Kane has the most goals on the team with 13 in 29 games. Martin Jones has continued his poor regular season performance from last year, posting up a 12-11-1 record combined with a 3.28 GAA and .889 save percentage.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators beat the New Jersey Devils 6-4 in their last outing, getting goals from Daniel Carr, Dante Fabbro, Yakov Trenin, Filip Forsberg, Nick Bonino, and Rocco Grimaldi. They have the league’s seventh-ranked offence, putting up 3.36 goals per game, and they’re 22nd in defence, allowing 3.21 goals per game. Nashville’s power play is 25th with a 15.5 percent success rate, and their penalty kill is 27th at 75.8 percent.
They’re led in scoring by defenceman Roman Josi with 25 points, and Forsberg and Bonino share the team lead in goals with 11. Starter Pekka Rinne has been concerningly average, posting a 10-4-3 record with a .897 save percentage and 2.92 GAA. Given San Jose’s lack of offence and poor goaltending, expect Nashville’s strong offence to overpower them as the Sharks drop another game on the road.
Prediction: Predators win 3-0.
Anaheim Ducks vs. Minnesota Wild
Head-to-Head: Ducks 0-0 Wild
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks lost their last outing against the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2. They have been an iffy bet in NHL Predictions. Jakob Silfverberg scored his 11th goal of the season and Devin Shore added his first. Anaheim’s offence is ranked 24th with 2.63 goals per game. Their defence is 15th in the league allowing 2.97 goals per game. Their power play success is low, 30th in the league with a 10.5 percent rate, and their penalty kill is 24th at 76.8 percent.
Ryan Getzlaf leads the team in points with 24. Silfverberg leads them in goals. John Gibson has an 8-12-2 record with a 2.87 GAA and .909 save percentage.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild got creamed 6-2 by the Carolina Hurricanes in their last matchup. They’re 17th in the league in terms of goals per game with 2.97. Their defence is 25th allowing 3.27 goals per game. Minnesota’s power play ranks near the middle at 13th, tallying a 19.2 percent success rate. Their penalty kill is 21st (78.6 percent).
Their offence is spearheaded by Jason Zucker and Eric Staal, who each have 21 points in 30 games. Zach Parise leads them in goals with 12. Alex Stalock has been the better of their goalies, posting an 8-4-2 record, .906 save percentage and 2.91 GAA. Minnesota has been playing better lately and will snap up another win at home against the Ducks.
Prediction: Wild win 4-1.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Winnipeg Jets
Head-to-Head: Red Wings 0-0 Jets
Detroit Red Wings
Detroit comes into tonight after a 5-3 loss to the Penguins on Saturday. Including that, the Red Wings have lost their past ten games, a reflection of their poor play this season. Detroit is struggling both offensively and defensively, with just 2.13 goals per game (last in the league) and 3.97 goals against per game (last in the league). Their power play, at a 15.5 percent conversion rate, is 26th, however. They also boast a last-place penalty kill, running at 72.2 percent.
Tyler Bertuzzi sits as the team’s leading scorer with 25 points (10-15-25) in 31 games. Anthony Mantha leads them in goals with 12. Starter Jonathan Bernier has a 5-9-2 record, .888 save percentage, and 3.41 GAA.
Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg is celebrating a 3-2 win against the Ducks Sunday afternoon. Their scoring is pretty average, netting 2.83 GF/GP, 18th in the league. They’re much better defensively, however, seventh in the league at 2.70 GA/GP. They have a poor power play, however, 27th in the league at 15.4 percent. Their penalty kill is a significant issue too, as their 76.4 kill rate puts them at 26th in the league.
Mark Scheifele is leading the way offensively with 29 points (13-16-29) in 30 games. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been Vezina-worthy, with a 15-7-2 record and .934 save percentage. The Jets will get an easy one tonight against a terrible, terrible team from Detroit.
Prediction: Jets win 3-0.
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