It's Opening Night in the National Hockey League, as the puck drops for the 2025-26 regular season with an ESPN tripleheader.
The action begins at 5 p.m. ET, with the Chicago Blackhawks and defending two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers from Sunrise. At 8 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers square off at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. And, at 10:30 p.m. ET, the night wraps up with the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings skating at Crypto.com Arena in SoCal. We'll make a few pics and parlays, trying to start out on the right foot. Let's get started.
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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Tuesday, October 7
For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.
Chicago Blackhawks 
at Florida Panthers 
It's banner-raising night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., and sometimes that can be a distraction to the celebrating team. It's fun to look back, but it's also hard to concentrate on the task at hand.
These teams split the regular-season series in 2024-25, with the Panthers blasting the Blackhawks 5-1 as huge favorites (-460) on Feb. 1 in Sunrise, with the total (six) pushing at most shops The Blackhawks stunned the Panthers 3-1 as heavy 'dogs (+200) in Chitown on Nov. 21, 2024, though, as the Under (5.5) came through.
Going back to the 2022-23 season, these teams have split all six meetings, with the home team winning seven in a row since March 31, 2022. On home ice, Florida has outscored Chicago 17-7 in the past four meetings, although two of the wins are just by a single goal. The Over is 3-1-1 in the past five in the series, and 6-3-1 across the past 10, including 2-0-1 in the past three in South Florida.
The Panthers are starting out shorthanded, as captain Aleksander Barkov (knee) is out for an extended period, and Matthew Tkachuk (groin) is sidelined until at least December. Tomas Nosek (knee) will also miss this game.
Even with two big stars missing, Florida should be able to get the job done, and we'll roll the dice on the puck line, but go low on the total. We should see a 4-1 kind of a game here.
- Panthers -1.5 (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPNBet and FanDuel)
- Under 5.5 Goals (+100 at Bet365, BetRivers and Caesars)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
Pittsburgh Penguins 
at New York Rangers 
The Penguins and Rangers renew acquaintances at MSG in the second game of the night. Unlike the Chicago-Florida trends, the road team dominated last season, going 3-1-0 in the four regular-season meetings. New York did win one of the games at home on Dec. 6, 2025, by a 4-2 score, while falling to Pittsburgh Feb. 7 in the rematch.
The Under had a 2-1-1 edge in the past four meetings, while going 6-3-1 in the previous 10 in the series.
For the Pens, they're expected to be without Bryan Rust, as he was injured in practice late last week due to a lower-body injury. That's a big deal, as he netted 31 goals a season ago.
The Rangers were dealing with an LBI of their own, as Artemi Panarin was a question mark for Tuesday. However, bench boss Mike Sullivan gave a thumbs up, and the "Bread Man" is expected to be in the lineup. The same holds true for J.T. Miller (lower body), who also carried a questionable tag.
With Igor Shesterkin as the backstop and a full cadre of offensive stars, the Rangers should get off on the right foot in the opener. Straight up, the Rangers would cost you two or more times your potential return, however. Based on the series trends from a season ago, let's take the road side, catching the goal and a half.
- Penguins +1.5 (-135 at BetMGM, ESPNBet Sportsbook)
- Under 6 Goals (-110 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Colorado Avalanche 
at Los Angeles Kings 
In the late-night affair, the Avalanche skate in La-La Land against the Kings. The home team won all three regular-season meetings in 2024-25, and the home team has won five straight dating back to Dec. 3, 2023. In addition, the favorite is a perfect 7-0 in the past seven in this series, with the Under going 3-1-1.
The Kings saw RW Alex Laferriere take part in a full practice Monday, so he is on track to play despite dealing with an undisclosed injury recently.
The Avs will be without Logan O'Connor (hip) to start the season, and Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) won't even travel for Tuesday's game. That leaves the starting chores in the hands of Scott Wedgewood, with Trent Miner expected as the backup, and that looks like an advantage for L.A.
Let's back the home side in the opener, while siding with the Under based on last season's series trends.
- Kings ML (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars and ESPNBet)
- Under 6 Goals (-110 at BetMGM)
Best NHL Parlays Today
3-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+683 at BetMGM)
- Panthers -1.5 (-110), Rangers -1.5 (+115) and Kings (-110)
3-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+574 at BetMGM)
- Under 5.5 (-105) - Blackhawks at Panthers
- Under 6 (-115) - Penguins at Rangers
- Under 6 (-118) - Avalanche at Kings
2-Leg NHL Play-it-Safe Parlay (-106 at BetMGM)
- Panthers ML (-285)* vs. Blackhawks
- Rangers ML (-225)* vs. Penguins
*- only bet as part of a multi-leg parlay, never straight up
