Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils (-140, 5.5)
The Flyers are determined not to make the same mistake twice. They got off to a sluggish start last year and earned a 0-3-3 record after the first six games. The slow start ended up costing them home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, the team is focused on getting off on the right foot.
“It’s a matter of starting better and finishing stronger,” coach John Stevens told the media. “They all make a difference in the end. We’ve gone through a lot of experiences the last two years. Now it’s time to put it all together.”
The Flyers also added to their defensive unit by acquiring veteran blue liner Chris Pronger. He joins an already stand-out group led by Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn. They will be called to help out new goalie Ray Emery who owned a 1.78 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage during the preseason.
Expect Philly to be the hungrier team in this matchup.
Pick: Flyers +129
Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals (-196, 6)
The Leafs may have added size and toughness in the offseason, but their penalty kill looked shaky in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Habs Thursday night. They outshot the Canadiens 46-27 and dominated most of the game, but they allowed two shorthanded goals on four penalties including the tying one to Glen Metropolit with less than four minutes left in regulation.
The Leafs had the worse defense and the worse penalty kill last year. And so far, it appears to be more of the same.
“I don't think we have a bad penalty kill, we just didn't do the job tonight,” said center Matt Stajan. “Every team is going to take penalties. We have the guys here who can kill penalties, we have to make sure we do a better job of it. We don't want to change the way we play.”
“At the end of the day, you're not going to take zero penalties in a season. We just have to do a better job killing them.”
The Leafs will have their work cut out for them Saturday night against the Capitals’ powerful offense. Washington dominated the Bruins from start to finish in Thursday’s 4-1 victory. Their offense was sharp and even Jose Theodore, who struggled for most of last season, looked solid between the pipes.
Pick: Capitals -196
