Bryan Power

10* Buffalo (10:05 ET): Let's tip our collective "caps" to the job done by the expansion team in Vegas so far. The Golden Knights are 4-1 and near the top of the Pacific Division, ahead of such preseason favorites as Anaheim and Edmonton. There's also the situation going on in the community in the aftermath of the tragic shooting that took place a few weeks ago. But I don't think anyone expects this fast start to last, as after all, this is an expansion team. Tonight, they are at home (for a fourth straight game) hosting a Buffalo team that has underachieved in the early part of the season. But after picking up their 1st win (in Anaheim) on Sunday, I expect the Sabres to finish off this road trip w/ two more points at the Golden Knight's expense.

Sooner or later, the Sabres have to make a leap up the Atlantic Division pecking order. It's a relatively wide open division and adding "insult to injury" is that Toronto is making that leap right now. Like the Maple Leafs, the Sabres are a team that has struggled for years, but has gotten an infusion of young talent. Unlike the Leafs though, that young talent has yet to take shape here. But the 3-1 win in Anaheim was perhaps a nice start. Goalie Chad Johnson stopped 25 shots and the penalty kill was a perfect 4 for 4. Helping "explain" the Sabres' poor start is the fact they've allowed FIVE short-handed goals, a league-high, thus far. That can't happen and fortunately isn't likely to continue. Jack Eichel is of course a solid foundation here to build around. 

There could be an issue for Vegas in goal here as Marc-Andre Fleury is still battling concussion issues and thus could miss this game. P.K. Subban started in his place Sunday vs. Boston and performed admirably, stopping 21 of 22 shots. But considering he has just three career starts under his belt, I'm not sure he can be counted on a regular basis. Even if Fleury does go here, he only posted a .867 save percentage in his first two home starts (ugly!) and was the one who gave up six goals in the team's only loss so far (to Detroit). The bottom line is I just don't expect the Golden Knights to continue winning at the current rate, while the Sabres should get better. That's reflected in the ML here, which I happen to think isn't nearly high enough. 10* Buffalo

6* Ottawa (7:35 ET): The Senators have not only yet to drop a game in regulation this year, but they also own the Eastern Conference's best goal differential at +10. They just swept a three-game trek through the Western provinces, the first time they've done that in franchise history! It was a dominant two-game performance in Alberta as they outscored Edmonton and Calgary by a combined 12-1 margin (won 6-1 and 6-0 respectively). But the trip also started w/ a 3-2 win (shootout) in Vancouver. Now it's time to take care of business against the Canucks at home. That game in Vancouver saw the Sens hold a decided edge in shots (42-28), something that was the case for them in each of the first four games. Not only leading the league in goals allowed per game (1.6), Ottawa is also #1 in penalty killing (100%!). They should dominate this lesser foe on home ice.

Vancouver came into the season projected to be one of the worst teams in the entire league. They did pull a big surprise on Opening Night, upsetting Edmonton 3-2, but that was at home as have been each of the team's first four contests. The Canucks were a dreadful team on the road last year (12-26-3) w/ only the league-worst Avs able to claim a worse record. It is a virtual lock that they will finish either in last or second to last in the Pacific this year (should be a "battle" w/ Arizona). In addition to losing to them at home last week, the Canucks were also swept by the Senators last season, failing to score a single goal in either game. Given how stingy Ottawa has been in the early going this season, it figures to again be a struggle for the Canucks to find the back of the net tonight.

The Sens opened the season w/ B2B home games (against Washington & Detroit). Like the win at Vancouver, both went to shootouts. But the difference was they lost the two at home. Call it the "just due" factor, but I can't see them opening the season by losing their first three home games. Especially now that Erik Karlsson, the two-time Norris Trophy winner, is set to finally hit the ice for the 1st time this season. The fact Ottawa performed as well as they did w/o Karlsson is pretty remarkable as his head coach (Guy Boucher) went so far as to call him "the best player in the world." Vancouver's power play is only 2 for 23 this year, so it figured to struggle anyway in this game. Consider that in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Flames, they had five 1st period PP chances and not only came up empty, but were actually outscored 1-0 even though one of those PP's was 5 on 3!  Compared to the Sens, the Canucks aren't nearly as healthy w/ defenseman Alex Edler and winger Lou Eriksson both out here. 6* Ottawa

8* Cleveland (8:05 ET): Batten down the hatches here as we have a rematch of LY's Eastern Conference Finals w/ Kyrie Irving having "switched sides" from Cleveland to Boston. Needless to say, emotions will be running high at the Quicken Loans Arena Tuesday night. My play on the Cavs does come w/ a rather giant caveat, that being if LeBron James doesn't suit up, the play is off. So, please, be sure to pay attention to the news throughout the day and as soon as I hear something definitive, I'll try and provide an update. But assuming King James does play, then I feel the emotion of opening the season at home against a hated rival will carry his team to the SU win and cover. Lay the short number (again, provided James plays). 

It's not just Irving, but Boston has a LOT of new faces this year. It's quite rare to see a team that finished #1 in its conference totally remake its roster, but that's precisely what GM Danny Ainge did here. He shipped his best player (Isaiah Thomas) to Cleveland in order to get Irving. That deal also saw the Celtics have to part ways w/ Jae Crowder, a key interior presence and defender. It's now the Cavs that will benefit from his services. Ainge also signed Gordon Hayward, off a career-year in Utah (21.9 PPG), to a big deal. Having a lot of "shiny" new pieces always seems fun on paper, but don't be surprised if the Celtics underachieve in 2017-18. I say that knowing full well that LY's team ranked only 3rd in net efficiency in the East, behind Cleveland and Toronto. Last year's group was built to overachieve. To me, this year's group will be just the opposite. They have just FOUR returning players from 2016-17. They're going to miss Avery Bradley for sure. Certainly, I don't see this team matching LY's league-best 29-18-2 ATS record on the road. 

Cleveland also has a lot of new faces. In addition to getting Thomas and Crowder in the Irving trade, they signed Dwyane Wade (LeBron's best buddy) and Derrick Rose. Both those players are probably "over the hill" and won't mean much to the pointspread, but at least Wade will keep James happy. The starting lineup will also be different w/ both Tristan Thompson and JR Smith relegated to bench roles. Neither may be happy about it, but the team is better served this way. (Wade, likely at James' behest, took over Smith's starting role at SG). Kevin Love now plays center, meaning it's a smaller lineup, but that's when the Cavs are at their best. They shredded Boston in LY's ECF to the tune of 120.4 PPG. Again, provided LeBron plays, I'm "all in" on the Cavaliers here. For the record, J.R. Smith is on record as saying James is "gonna go." 8* Cleveland

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