NHL Opening Night Picks – Best Bets for Tuesday’s 3 Games

• The 2025-26 NHL season kicks off on Tuesday, October 7th, with a three-game slate
• The Florida Panthers raise their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner against Chicago
• Read below for expert NHL picks for the opening night of the season

The puck finally drops on the 2025-26 NHL season Tuesday, and opening night delivers three solid matchups. The Florida Panthers will raise their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner before hosting Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena.

The slate also features a Metropolitan Division clash between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers, where new Rangers bench boss Mike Sullivan faces his former team. The nightcap sees the Colorado Avalanche visit the Los Angeles Kings in what oddsmakers price as a pick’em affair.

Let’s dive into the opening night NHL odds and offer our top picks for Tuesday’s action.

Tuesday NHL Picks & Odds – Opening Night

In the opening night NHL odds, the Florida Panthers are the heaviest moneyline favorite at -284 against the Blackhawks. All three games feature totals between 5.5 and 6 goals.

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Panthers vs Blackhawks Betting Analysis

The defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions will be without their two best players to start the season, as Aleksander Barkov is likely done for the year with an ACL and MCL injury, while Matthew Tkachuk is expected to miss time until the new year. Barkov had 20 goals and 51 assists last season, and Tkachuk added 22 goals and 35 assists.

The Panthers will need 24-year-old center Anton Lundell to step up in a first-line role as Florida looks to avoid a championship hangover. With their top two players sidelined, the Cats could come out sluggish despite the banner-raising festivities.

Chicago is an intriguing underdog play with Spencer Knight getting the start in goal against his former team. The talented young netminder is seeking revenge after Florida traded him to the Blackhawks at the deadline last season. Dating back to his final 24 starts, Knight boasts a .908 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average.

The Blackhawks have allowed three or fewer goals in four of their past six games, and young forward Frank Nazar lit up the preseason with four goals over his final three games. Connor Bedard remains Chicago’s cornerstone alongside Nazar, and the Hawks added forward Andre Burakovsky and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in the offseason.

While Sergei Bobrovsky is nearly always trustworthy in the Panthers’ crease, the absence of Barkov and Tkachuk is massive. Chicago went 25-46-11 last season but should keep this one competitive with Knight motivated against his former club.

• NHL Pick: Chicago Blackhawks +1.5 (-110)

Penguins vs Rangers Prediction

The storyline of the season opener at Madison Square Garden is new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan facing the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team he coached to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan was fired by Pittsburgh after last season and replaced Peter Laviolette in New York after the Rangers missed the playoffs.

If any head coach should know how to beat the Penguins, it’s Sullivan after his 10 years behind the bench in Pittsburgh. The Rangers are looking to bounce back from a disappointing campaign that saw them go 39-36-7 and post a pedestrian 19-19-3 mark at Madison Square Garden.

New York named former Vancouver Canuck J.T. Miller as the 29th captain in franchise history. Miller had 35 points in 32 games after coming over from the Canucks and tied for third in faceoff percentage at 58.2 percent among players who took 1,000 or more draws.

The Rangers still boast elite talent with Artemi Panarin, who led the club with 89 points in 80 games, plus Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Adam Fox.

Igor Shesterkin will start in goal for the Rangers after a down year at 27-29-5 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Pittsburgh counters with Tristan Jarry, who struggled mightily last season with a .892 save percentage and 3.12 goals-against average.

The Penguins finished 34-36-12 and second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby remains the team’s driving force after posting 33 goals and 91 points in 80 games at age 37, but Pittsburgh lacks offensive depth beyond Crosby and Rickard Rakell.

The Rangers won three of four meetings last season, including a 6-0 opening night shutout in Pittsburgh. The under is 4-1 in the past five meetings at Madison Square Garden between these rivals, and with both teams hoping to lean on defense to start the year, expect a low-scoring grind.

The under has cashed in six of the past 10 head-to-head encounters, and Pittsburgh allowed two or fewer goals in four of seven preseason games. Sullivan knows the Penguins’ tendencies better than anyone, and with Shesterkin eager to prove last season was a fluke, this one stays tight.

• Pick: Under 6 (-115)

Avalanche vs Kings Pick

The nightcap features a legit pick’em between two Western Conference contenders who both suffered first-round playoff exits last season. Colorado finished 49-29-4 and third in the Central Division, while Los Angeles went 48-25-9 and placed second in the Pacific.

The Avalanche remain one of the NHL’s most talented teams with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas leading the way. Colorado averaged 3.33 goals per game last season, sixth in the league, and added Brent Burns, Victor Olofsson and Gavin Brindley in the offseason.

The Avs struggled with goaltending inconsistency last season but stabilized late with the addition of Mackenzie Blackwood. However, Scott Wedgewood is expected to get the start Tuesday after going 14-6-2 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 24 games last season.

Los Angeles counters with former Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper, who had a fantastic season and backstops one of the NHL’s best defenses. The Kings allowed just 2.5 goals per game last season, second in the league, with Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson anchoring the blueline.

The Kings added veteran forward Corey Perry at 40 years old and will be motivated as this is the final season for 40-year-old Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles has scored 3.04 goals per game and features emerging star Quinton Byfield alongside Adrian Kempe.

The home team has won each of the last five meetings between these clubs, but the odds are even at -110 for both LA and Colorado. Both teams averaged over 6.4 combined goals per game last season, and the over has hit in seven of the Kings’ last eight games against Western Conference opponents.

Colorado’s road openers have gone over in each of their last four season-opening games away from home. With two high-powered offenses and the Avs eager to prove they can compete for the Cup after another early playoff exit, this one should be a shootout.

• NHL Pick: Over 6 (-102)