Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The 2013 fantasy hockey season will drop the puck tonight and many eager fantasy junkies will finally be able to feed their habit. There are three games scheduled for tonight, but before sitting down to watch to them, make sure to check out my bold predictions for the first night of fantasy hockey.
Opening Night Games:
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens – 7:00 PM ET
Washington Capitals vs. Chicago Blackhawks – 8:00 PM ET
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers – 10:00 PM ET
1. Alexander Ovechkin Will Score Tonight
Ovie has been in Greece recently to take part in the 2014 Sochi Olympic torch ceremony, but the captain made sure he was back in time for tonight’s game. Head coach Adam Oates has done wonders for the Russian forward’s career and he has helped Ovechkin mature into the best forward in fantasy. I fully expect Ovechkin to start the 2013 season with a bang and put at least one puck between the pipes.
2. Edmonton Will Score Three Goals
The Oilers may be missing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the first couple weeks of the season, but this team has enough firepower to put a couple pucks in the back of the net. Youngsters like Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Sam Gagner, and Nail Yakupov are all capable of scoring and the foursome will frustrate Winnipeg all game long. They should at least be able to score three goals on opening night.
3. Goaltender Corey Crawford Will Get A Win
Washington is one of the best scoring teams in the league, but they will have to faceoff against the Stanley Cup Champion, Chicago Blackhawks. Crawford had an amazing run in the playoffs last year and proved that he is one of the best netminders in fantasy. He will likely let one or two get by against Washington on opening night, but expect him to stop enough pucks to get the W.
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Fantasy Hockey 2013: Rookies To Highlight
Fantasy Hockey 2013: Expect A Big Year From Derek Stepan
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
