NHL Opening Night predictions: Odds, picks, best bets for Bruins-Panthers, more

The 2024-25 NHL season gets started in earnest with a triple-header Tuesday starting at 4:30 p.m.ET with the St.

Louis Blues taking on the Seattle Kraken and culminating with a late puck drop between Connor Bedard’s Chicago Blackhawks and the debutantes from Utah Hockey Club.Somewhere in between, the Florida Panthers will raise a Stanley Cup banner before playing the Boston Bruins.Here are our best bets to help celebrate the return of the NHL (odds via DraftKings):The betting market views both of these teams in a similar light.The Blues come into the new campaign with an over/under sitting at 86.5 points, while the Kraken are just north of that at 87.5.

The odds for their contest in Seattle reflect those projections as the Kraken are a -142 favorite on home ice, meaning this game would be pretty close to a pick’em when you adjust for the venue.At the prices, I’d lean toward St.Louis because of what projects to be a goaltending mismatch, but it’s not something to rush to the window to play.One bet that does stick out here, however, is Alexandre Texier to score a goal.

An offensively gifted winger, Texier’s career never got out of first gear in Columbus for a variety of reasons.That said, the shifty Frenchman still found a way to tally 12 goals and 30 points on a poor Blue Jackets squad.

There’s potential for more and the Blues will hope to unlock it by giving Texier a golden opportunity next to Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou.It’s a cushy spot.Best bet: Alexandre Texier to score a goal (+425, DraftKings)It should be quite the scene in Sunrise for the banner-raising, but it does look like this number is a bit short on the Panthers.

In all likelihood, the Panthers are in store for another big season, but there’s been a lot of change to this roster — especially on the blueline — and you have to wonder if there’s going to be some growing pains before the Cats hit their stride.The Bruins also reshaped their roster and will be without their sta...