PHOTO USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES Surprise squads near the top of the standings thanks to unforeseen hot starts. Surprise squads near the bottom of the standings, with legitimate questions whether they can turn their fortunes… We’re looking at you, Boston Bruins.
Welcome to the opening month of the NHL season, when plenty of teams have shot out of the gate before running out of steam and others are like freight trains pulling out of the station before gaining speed.
The early season uncertainty makes picking winners and losers more difficult, so let us focus on individual stars and team-related stats before the puck drops on Wednesday’s action.
There’s also the matter of a potential season-ending game at Yankee Stadium, where New York tries for the second night in a row to fend off a Dodgers celebration in the World Series.
Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings
The Jets finally felt the sting of defeat in Monday’s humbling 6-4 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. On top of proof you can’t win them all in the NHL, it was a textbook performance for a team that had gained a hint of complacency.
The Jets embark on a two-game road swing against a Red Wings club that will be on the edge of the playoff spot and is currently floundering around the .500 mark.
The Jets are known for their shutdown game with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck the backbone, but they have added more offensive attack this season. Kyle Connor has become the headliner with points in all nine outings this season and scored goals in two consecutive games and seven of nine outings.
Bank on him continuing his hot hand.
Kyle Connor anytime goal scorer (+105 at DraftKings)
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Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche
The injury bug has become worse than Pedator for the Avalanche, with Ross Colton joining the likes of Jonathan Drouin, Artturi Lehkonen and Gabe Landeskog on the sidelines, as well as Valeri Nichushkin still out due to suspension.
The impact has been huge while the Avalanche try to overcome that lack of forward depth while receiving sub-par goaltending. Very few teams can successfully try to outscore their problems, but the Avalanche are one of them, especially Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
Colorado is coming off a horrible performance in Monday’s 5-2 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, with MacKinnon among those who had a dreadful game.
Look for a huge bounce-back effort from MacKinnon, who managed only one shot on goal and was a minus-4 against the Blackhawks. Having had a couple of nights to stew about that outing, the ultra-competitive MacKinnon may not lead his team to victory but will do all he can to carry his undermanned squad.
Nathan MacKinnon five-plus shots on goal (+115, Draft Kings).
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Calgary Flames at Utah Hockey Club
After a red-hot start in the first half-dozen games — their best since the franchise relocated to Calgary in 1980-81 — the Flames have shown they are a team that will languish near the bottom of the standings.
As for Utah, a team that started strong in its first season after relocating to Salt Lake City from Arizona, the results of late have also been on the wrong side of the ledger.
The good news for these clubs is that one will win. The good news for betters is both teams know how badly they must concentrate on defensive play to have any hope of winning with any sort of consistency.
Expect these clubs, which are not blessed with a great deal of offensive talent, to do their best to clamp down and deliver a low-scoring affair.
Calgary and Utah total goals under six (+102 on DraftKings).
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Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees, World Series Game 5
There’s good news for Yankees fans with Gerrit Cole on the mound and New York trailing the best-of-seven series 3-1. He’s historically done well against Shohei Ohtani, the likely National League MVP and Los Angeles leadoff man, batting .174 in 23 career at-bats against Cole. Of those four hits, one was a home run.
But there’s also bad news.
The slow slog through the Dodgers’ dangerous lineup is ripe with players who don’t mind staring out at Cole from the batter’s box.
Current World Series MVP Freddie Freeman (-900 at FanDuel, DraftKings) is a .348 hitter against Cole, and Mookie Betts hits two points higher (.350).
The Dodgers are underdogs on Wednesday night, with Jack Flaherty making the start for Los Angeles.
Odds are pushing us in a different direction. We’re going with Yankees veteran Anthony Rizzo, who owned Flaherty during his days with the Cardinals in the NL Central. Rizzo has three career home runs against Flaherty and a .435 batting average. He had a hit and a walk in Game 1 started by Flaherty.
Anthony Rizzo 2-plus total bases (+200, FanDuel)
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