Good Afternoon Everyone!
Welcome back to another, and more than likely LAST, NHL season together. Let me start out by extending my utmost gratitude to everyone who has been here, new and old, and everyone who has stuck through the changes from Elite, to 4Deep, to the opening of Gameflows. I will never be able to fully show you how grateful I am to all of you. You turned a hobby into a career over these past few years, but like all of us, sometimes life gets in the way, times change, and difficult decisions need to be made. I have been lucky enough to experience just as big highs as I have lows, and the gift of life is one I could never be more grateful for. When I started this at Elite I was a single person with all the time in the world to devote to sports and betting and analysis. In 2019 I had my first child, in 2024 I had my second child, and now in 2025 I will be having my third child. There’s no hiding that having three children, a wife, and a home makes these decisions tough, and unless we are able to rebuild this place back to where we were two years ago, sustaining the necessary time and devotion to giving you all the quality product you deserve will be difficult. I am hoping that this season will help rebuild this place to what it once was, and that includes my results and efficiency in the articles and content you all deserve. I would love to extend this business past this year, but if I am unable to give you the results you all deserve to build this place back to where we were, I fear this will be our last year. If so, I will always be grateful and thankful for each and every one of you, and hope that if it is our last season together, we go out with a true BANG!
I am very excited for this years NHL season. We had an incredible 2025 NHL rookie draft with my New York Islanders winning the draft lottery to select Matthew Schaefer 1st overall. The Islanders open up against the Penguins tonight, in a matchup we have fared extremely well in over the years. This may also be Sid the Kids last season in a Penguins uniform, although if they move him I do see him returning to end his career in a Penguins sweater. The Islanders season will come down to the same two things it always does, year after year; their inability to score and their inability to hold leads. I am not expecting much this year. They should play as a .500 team teetering around the wild card spot, or third place in the division. The Metro division should be pretty weak outside of the Devils, Capitals, and Hurricanes this year, so the playoffs are not out of the question for the Isles. I like their chances tonight, opening on the road, against a Penguins team that just surprised the Rangers and shut them out. The team total of three for the Isles is where we will land, but I expect the Penguins to score and contribute to the game over as well. As always, Sidney Crosby has the most points against the Islanders than any other team in his career, so his goal and point props are always in play too. The Penguins on the other hand should be sellers at the trade deadline and why we may not see Sid, Malkin, or Kris Letang in a Penguins sweater all season.
The Florida Panthers will be without Matthew Tkachuk and Sacha Barkov for a lengthy period of time this season. Be careful when playing them, knowing these two will be out. The Flyers goaltending is the concern in this game, but Dan Vladar isn’t the worst they could have in net. I will not be making any plays on this game myself, but Matvei Michkov to score a goal +230, and the Flyers to win +180 is in play. This game, in my opinion, is a trap game, and I am weary to play Florida in any capacity. We can easily jump on the Panthers live if we need to, but my pregame lean here will be the Flyers. Keep an eye on Trevor Zegras here as he makes his debut for the Flyers after a blockbuster trade from the Ducks and Flyers in the offseason.
Mike Sullivan was relieved from the Penguins and immediately scooped up by the Rangers to replace Peter Laviolette. The Penguins then spoiled Sullivan’s home debut for the Rangers by shutting them out and scoring two empty net goals. The Rangers should rebound tonight against the Sabres, who, again, will miss the playoffs.
I will continue to update this article and do some team breakdowns through the weekend.
Official Plays:
- 7 pm Islanders team total over 3 -135: 2u
- 7 pm Sid Crosby (PIT) anytime Goal +160: 1u
- 7 pm Sid Crosby (PIT) 2+ Goal +1000: .5u
- 7 pm Sid Crosby (PIT) 3+ Goal +5000: .5u
- 7 pm New York Rangers ML -115: 2u
- 7 pm Rangers team total over 3 -135: 2u
- 8 pm Nashville Team Total over 3 -125: 5u
- 10 pm Vegas Team Total over 3.5 -135: 5u
