It’s the best time of the year for hockey bettors, as the NHL opens its 2025-26 regular season with a three-game slate on Tuesday night.
The season will officially get underway at 5 p.m. ET when the Florida Panthers begin their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup against the Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to the game, Florida will hoist its second championship banner to the rafters at Amerant Bank Arena.
Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup
The second game of the night will feature Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden at 8 p.m. ET.
And lastly, the Los Angeles Kings will host the Colorado Avalanche at 10:30 p.m. ET in what should be the most entertaining contest of the night.
Overall, it’s an underwhelming slate of games for opening night, but it’s been a long summer without hockey, so who are we to complain? Four Canadian teams will open their respective seasons on Wednesday, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames visiting the Edmonton Oilers.
NHL opening night odds
| Game | Moneyline odds | Game total |
| Blackhawks vs. Panthers | Blackhawks (+230), Panthers (-280) | Over 5.5 goals (-120), Under 5.5 (+100) |
| Penguins vs. Rangers | Penguins (+195), Rangers (-225) | Over 6 goals (-110), Under 6 (-110) |
| Avalanche vs. Kings | Avalanche (-105), Kings (-115) | Over 6 goals (+100), Under 6 goals (-120) |
NHL opening night best bet
Colorado Avalanche moneyline: -105 (best odds @ bet365).
We’re getting great value at close to even money odds on an exceptional Avalanche team in this season opener, likely because starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood will miss the contest with a lower-body injury. Yes, Blackwood is clearly the No. 1 option in goal for the Avs, but they do have the luxury of having one of the most competent backup goalies in the league in Scott Wedgewood, who went 28-21-6 with a .912 save percentage and 2.55 GAA for the San Jose Sharks and Avalanche last year.
Additionally, the Avalanche took three of four games during the regular season from the Kings, who got a little weaker over the offseason at the back end by losing Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence on defence and bringing in Cody Ceci and Brian Doumoulin to replace them.
A healthy Gabriel Landeskog should give the high-powered Avs another competent top-six forward, making them an even more dangerous team this season, especially out of the gates when everyone is fresh.
The Kings did boast an incredible 31-6-4 record at home last season, but that’ll be hard to replicate in 2025-26.