If you know football, baseball and fantasy sports but hockey makes you stare at the screen wondering why 10 guys are skating around chasing a piece of frozen rubber, welcome to NHL Opening Night.
The 2026-27 NHL season gets underway tonight with five games, including the defending Stanley Cup champion 
Hurricanes raising their championship banner before hosting the 
Panthers.
And there is plenty of fantasy and betting opportunity on the board.
The important thing to remember with NHL betting is that puck line, moneyline, totals, shots on goal, points and anytime-goal props are the major markets. A player does not have to score to have a fantasy or betting impact. Shots, assists, power-play production and blocked shots can all matter. Every NHL prop at the best price is live now for all five games.
This season also brings an unusual change: the NHL has expanded the regular season to 84 games per team, the league's largest regular-season schedule ever. The full 2026-27 schedule and the key dates page have everything mapped out.
Here is the opening-night slate.
Panthers AT Hurricanes
5:00 PM ET, ESPN
The storyline: the defending Stanley Cup champions start their title defense at home against Florida. Carolina raises its championship banner before the game, then immediately gets one of the toughest possible opening-night opponents.
The Hurricanes are currently around a -128 moneyline favorite, with the game total sitting around 6.5 goals in the market.
GOALTENDING
Projected: Hurricanes | Brandon Bussi. Panthers | Jacob Markstrom.
The goalie situation is worth watching because Florida completely changed its goaltending picture during the offseason, while Carolina enters the season with considerably more continuity.
FANTASY PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sebastian Aho | Hurricanes. Aho immediately becomes one of the most interesting fantasy players on the slate. He is also receiving attention in the anytime-goal market, with one current model pricing him around +210 to score.
Andrei Svechnikov | Hurricanes. Projected on Aho's line, giving him exposure to one of Carolina's premier offensive combinations.
Eric Robinson | Hurricanes. Here is the sneaky DFS name. Robinson has been skating on the top line with Aho and Svechnikov during camp, exactly the kind of lineup change fantasy players need to notice. A player who normally operates lower in the lineup suddenly skating alongside elite offensive talent can become considerably more interesting at a cheap DFS salary. One current betting analysis has Robinson around +475 to score a goal.
Matthew Tkachuk | Panthers. And now we get the family reunion. Matthew Tkachuk is joined by his brother Brady Tkachuk after Florida acquired him from Ottawa this past June in a blockbuster trade, sending three first-round picks and a second-rounder the other way. The two won Olympic gold together for Team USA in Milan Cortina before becoming NHL teammates for the first time. Florida's projected combinations have Matthew alongside Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe, while Brady is projected alongside Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
BIG INJURY
Seth Jarvis is out for Carolina with a shoulder injury and is expected to miss time. That matters because Carolina's forward deployment changes without one of its important young offensive players.
OPENING-NIGHT LEAN
Hurricanes to win. I am more interested in the under 6.5 than trying to force a big Carolina puck-line play. This is the defending champion at home, with the emotional banner ceremony and a largely familiar system going against a Florida team that has undergone major changes.
Fantasy target: Sebastian Aho. Sneaky fantasy target: Eric Robinson. Goal prop to monitor: Aho. Game script: Carolina pressure, but do not automatically assume seven goals.
Canadiens AT 
Maple Leafs
7:00 PM ET
This might be the most interesting game for fantasy purposes because Toronto is introducing Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, to one of hockey's biggest markets.
Montreal, meanwhile, is coming off a 48-24-10 season, 106 points, and an Eastern Conference Final appearance, its best finish since the Cole Caufield era began. Toronto went 32-36-14 and missed the playoffs entirely, a 30-point collapse from the year before. That is a pretty damn important difference when you are trying to figure out whether last year's standings matter.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cole Caufield | Canadiens. One of the strongest pure shooting profiles on the opening-night slate. Caufield produced 51 goals last season, the first Montreal player to reach the mark in 26 years, on roughly 258 shots in 81 games, about 3.2 shots per game. Toronto allowed 32.45 shots per game last season. That is exactly the kind of matchup fantasy players want when considering a shots-on-goal prop. One current market has Caufield around +140 to score.
Nick Suzuki | Canadiens. The Montreal captain posted a career-high 101 points last season and won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. He remains the center of Montreal's top offensive unit and should be heavily involved in both points and power-play production.
Auston Matthews | Maple Leafs. You do not need to know hockey to know this guy. Matthews is one of the league's premier goal scorers and remains the obvious Toronto DFS centerpiece.
Gavin McKenna | Maple Leafs. The rookie is probably the most fascinating player to watch on opening night. The No. 1 pick arrives in Toronto with enormous expectations, and this is his first opportunity to show how quickly his game translates to the NHL.
Do not automatically assume "No. 1 pick equals fantasy superstar tonight," though. That is how you end up paying a premium for a rookie before seeing his actual NHL usage. The draft guide and the fantasy mock draft tool are the fastest way to see where the market is actually placing him.
OPENING-NIGHT LEAN
Montreal has the more proven recent team performance, while Toronto has undergone significant offseason changes, including adding goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and McKenna.
Fantasy target: Caufield. Star target: Matthews. Rookie watch: McKenna. Sneaky angle: Caufield shots on goal. Prediction: Montreal in a close one.
Rangers AT 
Bruins
8:00 PM ET, ESPN
Now we are talking about a game where the goalies could determine everything. And if you are a lifelong New Yorker who bleeds Jets green every Sunday, this is probably the one game on tonight's slate you already have half an eye on.
Current odds have Boston around -115, with New York around -105, and the total is only 5.5 goals. That is a giant clue. The market is not expecting a seven-goal track meet.
GOALTENDING
Igor Shesterkin for the Rangers, Jeremy Swayman for the Bruins. That is a legitimate goaltending matchup. Current projections have both as the starters, with the available save markets showing roughly 25.5 saves for Shesterkin and 23.5 for Swayman.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Pastrnak | Bruins. Boston's offense still runs through Pastrnak. The Bruins finished 45-27-10 last season and made the playoffs, but their offensive depth remains a major question entering this season.
Morgan Geekie | Bruins. This is the sneaky prop name. One current model has Geekie at approximately +190 anytime to score, with a 35.6 percent modeled probability.
Adam Fox | Rangers. For fantasy players who understand that defensemen can produce points too, Fox remains an important piece.
Pavel Dorofeyev | Rangers. One of New York's major offseason additions, worth monitoring immediately because the Rangers need additional offensive production after significant roster changes.
THE FANTASY ANGLE
This is not the game where I am loading up on five goal scorers. The 5.5 total and elite goaltending matchup point toward a lower-scoring environment. That makes shots on goal, power-play points, assists, and goalie saves particularly interesting.
OPENING-NIGHT LEAN
Bruins by a goal, but I am not expecting a blowout.
Fantasy target: Pastrnak. Value prop: Geekie goal. Goalie angle: Shesterkin/Swayman saves. Game script: low scoring and tight.
Canucks AT 
Oilers
10:00 PM ET, ESPN+
If you are looking for the game most likely to turn into fantasy fireworks, this is it. Edmonton is a massive favorite.
Current odds have Oilers around -305, Canucks around +245, Edmonton -1.5 (-118), and the total at 6.5 (-115 over, -105 under).
And there is a very good reason.
THE MCDAVID AND DRAISAITL PROBLEM
Edmonton is opening the season with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together on the top line. That is basically the hockey equivalent of putting three elite offensive weapons on the same fantasy lineup and saying, "Yeah, let's see what happens."
The Oilers' power play was also elite last season. Vancouver finished last season 25-49-8 and allowed 314 goals, while its penalty kill ranked last in the league at 71.5 percent. Edmonton's power play converted at 30.6 percent. That is a nasty matchup.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Connor McDavid. Obviously. If Edmonton gets power-play opportunities, McDavid could pile up points quickly.
Leon Draisaitl. Same problem. McDavid and Draisaitl together means you can potentially get goals and assists from either side of the same offensive sequence.
Vasily Podkolzin. This is the name fantasy players should circle. Podkolzin is projected to start alongside McDavid and Draisaitl, making him one of the most interesting value plays on the entire slate. One current betting analysis has Podkolzin 1-plus point around -110.
Brock Boeser | Canucks. If you are looking for the Vancouver player most capable of ruining Edmonton's party, Boeser is the guy I am watching. One current model has him around +240 to score.
OPENING-NIGHT LEAN
Edmonton -1.5. This is my favorite game for stacking. McDavid plus Draisaitl plus Podkolzin is an obvious DFS combination.
Fantasy targets: McDavid, Draisaitl. Value target: Podkolzin. Contrarian target: Boeser. Betting angle: Edmonton -1.5. Total: 6.5. Game script: Edmonton controls the game and generates a ton of offensive chances.
Blackhawks AT 
Golden Knights
10:30 PM ET, ESPN
This one has a great storyline because Patrick Kane returns to Chicago on a two-year deal, closing the loop on an emotional chapter for a fan base that watched him become an icon over parts of 17 seasons.
Golden Knights, meanwhile, is coming off a Stanley Cup Final appearance and enters the season as one of the teams expected to contend again. Vegas is currently around a 69 percent projected win probability in goalie-market projections, compared with roughly 31 percent for Chicago.
CHICAGO'S BIG PROBLEM
Connor Bedard is expected to miss time following left shoulder surgery, likely into November. That is enormous for Chicago. Bedard has led the Blackhawks in scoring in each of his three seasons, and Kane will not be able to start the season on a line with him, though the two have already talked about eventually playing together.
VEGAS PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jack Eichel. The obvious Vegas fantasy centerpiece.
Mark Stone. Stone remains an important scoring threat and power-play option when healthy.
Shea Theodore. A defenseman who can provide fantasy value through points, assists and power-play production.
CHICAGO VALUE
This is where things get interesting. Current prop models are flagging long-shot goal candidates including Roman Kantserov at +360, Nick Lardis at +500 and Trevor Connelly at +500.
Those are not hammer-the-bet recommendations. They are examples of the type of long-shot player props worth investigating when you are building DFS lineups or looking for a ridiculous plus-money lottery ticket.
OPENING-NIGHT LEAN
Golden Knights wins. Chicago is missing Bedard, and Vegas has the deeper lineup and home ice.
Fantasy target: Eichel. Value target: Chicago's cheap forwards. Long-shot prop names: Kantserov, Lardis, Connelly. Prediction: Vegas.
OPENING-NIGHT FANTASY CHEAT SHEET
If you are coming into hockey completely cold, here are the names I would circle first.
Pay-up players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, Sebastian Aho, Jack Eichel, David Pastrnak.
Value players: Vasily Podkolzin, particularly interesting because he is projected alongside McDavid and Draisaitl. Eric Robinson, whose top-line deployment makes him considerably more interesting than his normal role would suggest.
Goal-scorer props to watch: Aho +210, Geekie +190, Caufield +140, Boeser +240, Kreider +320, Kantserov +360, Lardis +500.
These prices are snapshots from current markets and models as of today and can move before puck drop. Line movement and the heat map track exactly how far any of these have already shifted.
THREE THINGS A NEW HOCKEY BETTOR NEEDS TO KNOW
1. Do not blindly bet the moneyline. A team can be -300 and still be a terrible betting price. That is why the Oilers are more interesting on the -1.5 puck line than paying a gigantic moneyline price. Implied probability and devig turn that instinct into an actual number.
2. Shots are your friend. A player can fail to score and still smash a shots-on-goal prop. That is particularly important with guys like Caufield, Matthews, McDavid and Draisaitl.
3. Watch the power play. This is probably the biggest thing for a fantasy football player transitioning into hockey. If a player is on the first power-play unit, his scoring opportunity can be dramatically different from a player getting regular even-strength minutes.
FANTASYDAILIES OPENING-NIGHT BOARD
Best superstar fantasy target: Connor McDavid
Best value fantasy target: Vasily Podkolzin
Best sneaky value: Eric Robinson
Best pure goal-scoring matchup: Oilers
Most interesting goalie matchup: Rangers-Bruins
Most interesting rookie: Gavin McKenna
Most dangerous team to stack: Oilers
Most interesting long-shot goal props: Kantserov, Lardis, Connelly
Best game for casual hockey fans: Panthers-Hurricanes
Game I am expecting to be the most fantasy-friendly: Canucks-Oilers
And if you know absolutely nothing about hockey, here is the one sentence to remember: McDavid plus Draisaitl plus Podkolzin is the opening-night stack you need to understand before you start throwing fantasy lineups together.
The NHL season is officially back. And yes, Mark, there will be approximately 47 people in every DFS contest tonight who know the difference between a 1-3-1 and a 2-1-2 before breakfast, the same crowd that probably beat you to the punch back when you and the FantasyGold guys were doing this before most of them knew DFS was a word. You do not need to be one of them tonight. You just need to know who is shooting the damn puck, and maybe keep half an eye on that Rangers-Bruins game like the rest of your fellow Staten Islanders.
Import your team, let the Roster Doctor grade everyone you own, and settle the close calls in Start or Sit or the start/sit board. Building a same-night ticket? The parlay generator drafts off tonight's full card, the Parlay Doctor grades it A through F, and Kelly sizes the stake. The hit-rate board and Splits show how often any of tonight's props have actually cleared before you bet one off a single model number.
Playing DFS instead? DFS Edge and the lineup optimizer are built for exactly this slate. The goaltending leaderboard and team defense stats are worth a look before you lock a goalie prop.
Every call we make is on the verdict slate, graded openly on the public ledger. The calibration page shows whether that confidence has meant anything.
21+. 1-800-GAMBLER.
