NHL betting: Five season-long point totals to bet before puck drop

It was easy to miss, but the NHL regular season technically got underway on Friday and Saturday in Prague when the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks played two games. The North American portion of the schedule begins on Tuesday with two games. We're approaching last call for season-long props and bets, but it's still not too late.

It was a wild offseason across the NHL. We saw big names go to unexpected places. We saw some changes on the coaching carousel. We saw some big trades. With the salary cap staying flat due to the pandemic, teams had to be creative. Nevertheless, the offseason is now in the past and it's time to drop the puck. These are five season-long point totals I've bet at BetMGM.

Carolina Hurricanes to go over 102.5 points

It's hard to be quietly elite, but the Carolina Hurricanes have been just that for the last two seasons.

Last season, the Carolina Hurricanes finished with 116 points en route to winning their division. They finished with the second-best record in the East and the third-best record in hockey. In the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, Carolina played at a pace that would translate to 117 points over a normal 82-game schedule. The Hurricanes won their division, and once again, were the third-best team in the entire league that season.

There was some offseason turnover in Carolina. Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter and Tony DeAngelo departed. They were replaced by Max Pacioretty (who will miss multiple months), Paul Stastny, Ondrej Kase and Brent Burns. When Pacioretty returns later in the season, I think this team is even better than they were last season.

Even until then, I trust in Rod Brind'Amour and his ability to keep the Hurricanes a well-oiled machine. All the underlying metrics suggest this is an elite team. This team is the favorite to win its division at +195. The Hurricanes have the third-best odds to win the East and the fourth-best odds to win the Stanley Cup. Despite that, their over/under point total is 13 points lower than where they finished last season. I don't buy it. Give me Carolina to go over 102.5 points.

Chicago Blackhawks to go under 67.5 points

Let's just take a look at what the Chicago Blackhawks have done in the last couple of months. Brandon Hagel, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach and Dominik Kubalik are all off the team. It's a matter of if, and not when, as to when Patrick Kane and potentially Jonathan Toews are moved.

Once Kane is gone, this roster will be barren. It already is, if we're being honest. Their defense features Seth Jones and a bunch of no-names. Their starting goaltender is Petr Mrazek, who played so poorly with Toronto last season that they had to package an asset just to get rid of his cap hit.

Chicago is tanking. I think they're a very good bet to finish with the worst record in the NHL. Oddsmakers agree. The Blackhawks are +325 to finish with the worst record in hockey, which is tied for the best odds with the Arizona Coyotes.

Michael Leboff of the Action Network had a great stat when it comes to tanking teams. On average, the worst team in the league every season has just 57.7 points. The worst record in hockey has gone over 67.5 points just once in the last six years. I'm fully expecting Chicago to be one of those teams fighting for Connor Bedard, so I'll take them to finish under 67.5 points this season.

New Jersey Devils to go under 91.5 points

I'm actually excited for the New Jersey Devils this season. I think they'll be vastly improved from last season.

That's the thing though. The Devils had 63 points last season. Their over/under for this season is set at 91.5 points. I'm going to fade almost any team that is projected to improve by 15 wins season-over-season.

Goaltending was the big issue for the Devils last season. They used seven different goaltenders and none of them were very good. The hope is that Mackenzie Blackwood returns to form this season. He flashed his talents making 43 starts in 2019-20 and posting a .915 save percentage. However, the last two seasons have been below average and he's missed extended time due to injury. New Jersey also acquired Vitek Vanecek from the Capitals to shore up their goaltending and tandem with Blackwood. Vanecek has been an average-at-best goaltender the last two seasons in Washington.

Again, New Jersey should be improved this season. I'm bullish on the Devils long-term with their high-end young talent, but this might be asking too much too quickly from the young team. I'm going under 91.5 points with the Devils.

Philadelphia Flyers to go under 73.5 points

Last season, the Philadelphia Flyers had 61 points. I'm pretty sure they are worse this season. Despite that, their preseason win total is 12.5 points higher than they finished last season.

I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the John Tortorella effect. Tortorella was hired as the new head coach of the Flyers over the offseason and he's not the type of coach that will accept poor effort and be fine with losing. Unfortunately for him, I don't think there's much he can do about it.

The Flyers finished 31st in goals per game last season and did nothing to improve their forwards. In fact, Claude Giroux, arguably their most talented forward from the start of last season, was traded at last year's deadline and is now in Ottawa. Sean Couturier will miss the start of the season due to a back injury.

Carter Hart showed flashes at the start of last season, but by the end of the year, he was struggling again. At this point, it's fair to question if he will ever meet the potential he showed a few years ago. I think the Flyers go well under 73.5 points and I don't hate a bet on them to have the worst record in hockey at +700 odds.

Washington Capitals to go over 94.5 points

The Washington Capitals have reached the 100-point mark in six consecutive seasons that weren't shortened by the pandemic.

Detractors will highlight the fact that the core is aging, but Alex Ovechkin is showing no signs of slowing down. He scored 50 goals again last season and at this point, if I had to bet, he's breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record in the coming years.

Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson will miss the first part of the season, but I think they have enough depth to survive. The additions of Dylan Strome and Connor Brown will do a lot to help that. The development of young players like Connor McMichael will also help offset that loss. When Backstrom and Wilson do return, they'll be joining a deeper team than they had last season.

While all of that is nice, the addition of Darcy Kuemper is what puts me over the top with Washington. He wasn't great in the playoffs last season for Colorado, but he was a top-five goalie during the regular season. Before joining the Avalanche last season, Kuemper was very good for the Arizona Coyotes in prior seasons, alleviating concerns about the "Avalanche bump." Kuemper will almost certainly be a huge upgrade on the duo of Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov that the Capitals employed previously. Goaltending was a weakness for Washington last season, and now I think Kuemper will make it a strength.

Washington goes over this number every year, and I like this team a lot more entering this season than I did last season. I'm going over 94.5 points with the Capitals.