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NHL dog of the day: Florida looks for playoff revenge

Oh baby, we have our first massive mid-day NHL slate of the season. Twenty-two of the NHL's 32 teams are in action on Tuesday as we are now fully in the swing of things.

The beauty of the NHL season was on full display last night as we saw Toronto and Calgary go down as massive favorites at home. If there's one piece of betting advice I'd give for this sport, it's never be afraid to play an underdog. There is so much parity and there's so much variance in games.

NHL dog of the day

After an 0-2 start to the season, we're now on a three-game winning streak and quickly up 1.65 units on the season. We look to continue the good run on Tuesday.

I'm turning my attention to the Sunshine State, where the Florida Panthers are +100 on the moneyline against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning are off to a 2-1-0 start as they look for their third straight championship, but it's hard to be impressed by what they've put on the ice. They were blown out in their season opener by a depleted Pittsburgh team. They then followed that up by needing a miracle third-period comeback to force overtime against one of the league's worst teams in Detroit. They then played a totally average game, winning in overtime, against Washington.

Things might get even worse for Tampa Bay as they'll be without Nikita Kucherov for the foreseeable future. Maybe this will cause a spark and wake up the rest of the team, but losing one of the league's best players can't be viewed as a positive.

SUNRISE, FL - OCTOBER 16: Teammates congratulate Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers after he scored a third period goal against the New York Islanders at the FLA Live Arena on October 16, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers have revenge on their minds Tuesday night. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) (Joel Auerbach via Getty Images)

Florida has started the season well, posting a 2-0 record with wins over the Penguins and Islanders. The Panthers have scored 10 goals already, showing their offensive flair.

Last season, the Panthers went 5-2-1 against the Lightning during the regular season. They then matched up in the playoffs, where in most people's opinions, the Panthers were the better team. However, Florida was sunk by poor goaltending.

Tuesday night we'll see hyped young netminder Spencer Knight make his season debut for the Panthers. I think Florida is playing better than the Lightning to begin the season and there's definitely revenge on the mind for Florida. I'll take the road underdog at plus-money.

Rest of the slate

There are 10 other games on the NHL slate for Tuesday night. You can check out all of the lines at BetMGM, but I'll highlight some games I'm taking a look at.

Dallas vs. Pittsburgh: The Dallas Stars are +110 underdogs against Pittsburgh in the Steel City. I think this is a fair enough price to back the home team here as a favorite. Dallas hasn't been impressive to begin the season and Pittsburgh has looked strong.

Colorado vs. Washington: I will take the Avalanche at -120 in any opportunity I can. This is the best team in the league and I don't think it's particularly close. Maybe I'm walking into a trap, but I prefer to believe that's not a thing in hockey betting.

Islanders vs. Chicago: Give me another road favorite here as the Islanders look to get their first win of the season as a -125 favorite. New York hasn't looked great, but it's played two elite teams in Carolina and Florida. On the other side, Chicago's defensive performance has been a real problem. I also don't mind the over here (5.5 goals) as the Islanders haven't looked great defensively either.

Goaltending information

Vancouver Canucks (Demko) vs. Buffalo Sabres (C. Anderson)
San Jose Sharks (Hill) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Allen)
Florida Panthers (Knight) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Vasilevskiy)
Seattle Kraken (Unconfirmed — likely Dreidger) vs. New Jersey Devils (Unconfirmed — likely Bernier)
Dallas Stars (Holtby) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Jarry)
Colorado Avalanche (Kuemper) vs. Washington Capitals (Samsonov)
Columbus Blue Jackets (Korpisalo) vs. Detroit Red Wings (Greiss)
New York Islanders (Sorokin) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Fleury)
Los Angeles Kings (Unconfirmed — likely Petersen) vs. Nashville Predators (Unconfirmed — likely Saros)
Winnipeg Jets (Hellebuyck) vs. Minnesota Wild (Talbot)
Anaheim Ducks (Stolarz) vs. Edmonton Oilers (Smith)