NHL Best Bets Today: October 2 Picks & Predictions
The first Friday of the 2026-27 NHL season brings an excellent 5-game slate. There is a ton of intrigue tonight. Among other things to watch, there is drama going on with the Red Wings and Jets, the Capitals feature several new stars, and a young Ducks team looks to validate last year’s playoff run. The first puck drops at 6:30 PM ET in an Original 6 matchup between the Rangers and Red Wings, then the action goes all through the night.
If you want to add some intrigue in the form of some betting action, here are a few bets we have our eyes on for this slate.
Best Bet: Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes game total over 6.5 (+105)
Best Bet: St. Louis Blues vs Dallas Stars over 5.5 (-135)
Best Bet: Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 (+136) vs Anaheim Ducks
Best Bet: Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes game total over 6.5 (+105)
The Capitals are a team carrying a lot of buzz going into the season. It is easy to see the why that is the case. This was already a fairly well-constructed team. But then they went an acquired Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, and Vincent Desharnais. Tuch and Kyrou alone add 70 goals to this roster. That does not even mention Alexander Ovechkin, Ryan Leonard, Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Alexei Protas, Jakob Chychrun, or Cole Hutson. This team will be able to score this year which will make game totals rise.
On one hand, facing a suffocating team like the Hurricanes could make the over look more bleak than normal. In this case, the defending Stanley Cup Champions will likely be taking more offensive chances. On Tuesday, they were shut out in their banner-raising night at home by the rival Panthers. Carolina will come out hungry to get on the board and get into their familiar early-season form. This has the potential to be a very high-scoring game, as evident by a higher 6.5 game total.
Best Bet: St. Louis Blues vs Dallas Stars over 5.5 (-135)
The Blues and Stars are very familiar with each other. Dallas has had the better of the recent head to head matchups. In those matchups, there have been some high scores. In the last 5 games played between St. Louis and Dallas, there have been 34 goals scored for an average game total of 6.80 during that span. There is plenty of offensive firepower on both sides, and both teams are looking to make a statement. With a lower game total of 5.5 goals, the over has a good look in this game.
Another factor that is bad for St. Louis but bodes well for the over, is that the Blues are missing a couple of their regular defensemen. There are a couple of young, unproven defensemen suited up for the Blues, as well as a new veteran. It could take some time in this game, perhaps multiple games, for them to gel. A defensive pair that is not used to each other yet can be exploited by a team as good as Dallas. Couple that with the offensive talent of the Blues to keep up with a Stars attack, and a higher total looks even better.
Best Bet: Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 (+136) vs Anaheim Ducks
The Golden Knights started their season in very unsurprising fashion on Tuesday with a convincing 6-3 win over the Blackhawks. Vegas is the reigning Western Conference Champion, and they did not look rusty in their season opener. This is a team that feels almost automatic game in and game out, season in and season out. They have already proven to be in solid form to start the season, and have what appears to be another favorable matchup.
The Golden Knights have won 3 out of the last 4 and 4 out of the last 6 games played between these teams. Of the 4 wins in those 6 games, Vegas won by 2+ goals in 3 of those matchups. To illustrate Vegas’ advantage further, all of those games were playoff games. In the postseason, typically teams try to clamp down and limit their opponent even more. Despite the Ducks’ efforts, they could not hang. What really stands out on this year’s Ducks team, though, is they look like a candidate for regression from last year. This team lost John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger, Chris Kreider, and Mason McTavish. Say what you will about some of those players. Those are glaring omissions year over year. Vegas looks like the better team on paper with a bullet, and validated their pedigree on Tuesday. This could be a lopsided one.
