New Era in San Jose: Saturday Expert Picks in the NHL
Written by: TonesTakes
Published: Sat Oct 03, 2026, 11:11 am ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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We had a successful first night going 2-1 for a profit of 1.58 Units thanks to a 4-0 St. Louis shutout of the Dallas Stars. Before we get started, bookmark Our NHL picks page where you'll see more picks from the team. For more information on how to bet on the NHL, take a look at our NHL Betting Guide.
As far as my NHL picks, I look at shot on goal props, but only plus money looks, as the market is very volatile with stat corrections (sometimes days after the game has ended). Also, I'm a totals bettor (team and game). I am never afraid at looking at plus money underdogs. I love providing my insight as to the "Why" and I hope to provide some guidance to novice bettors of this great sport. "Spot" betting is huge on the ice, and this depends on teams travel schedules, goaltending matchups and splits following a win/loss, among may others. For my Saturday NHL Best Bets, I am eyeing up the Utah Mammoth vs the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings vs the San Jose Sharks.
Utah Mammoth vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions
Utah Mammoth vs Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltending Matchup
- Utah Mammoth (1-0) – Karel Vejmelka (Projected) 1-0, 0.00 GAA/1.000 Sv%)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0) Jet Greaves (Projected) 1-0, 3.00 GAA/.885 Sv%)
Best Bet: Utah Mammoth -108 Lucky Rebel
Like many, I am very very high on this Utah team this season. After relocating from Arizona, the Mammoth made the playoffs last season and took the eventual West Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knight to Game 6. Utah is a very well coached team with firepower up front. However, Andre Tourigny has them playing a tight defensive style, especially on the road where they only allowed 2.8 goals per game last season. Youngsters Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther had fantastic seasons last year, but it is the additions that have me bullish on this team. The Mammoth added Vincent Trochek and Anders Lee in the offseason. This move added some needed size and grit to this forward group.
Both these teams are coming off season opening wins. Utah blanked the Chicago Blackhawks at home but a 6-0 score. Meanwhile, Columbus took care of business in their home opener by defeating the Buffalo Sabres by a 6-3 score. Columbus enters this game missing 2 key defenseman in Ivan Provorov And Dante Fabbro, which hinders their depth on the back line. The Mammoth are beginning a 5 game East Coast road trip here, and that is I spot I like to look at the road team. In this situation, they will want to get the trip off with a win. Utah's superior depth, healthier lineup, and overwhelming structural defense should wear wear down the Blue Jackets and secure a tight road victory.
Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks Predictions
Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks Goaltending Matchup
- Los Angeles Kings (0-1) – Darcy Kuemper (0-1, 8.08 GAA/.724 Sv%)
- San Jose Sharks (1-0) – Yaroslav Askarov (1-0, 2.85 GAA/.885 Sv%)
Best Bet: San Jose Sharks Team Total Over 3.5 +135 Lucky Rebel
3rd year superstar Macklin Celebrini was named team captain prior to the season, marking the beginning of a new Era in San Jose. The Sharks begun that new era by defeating the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 Overtime thriller on Thursday night. San Jose is another young team that has playoff aspirations this season, and I love them to fulfill that. The Sharks are loaded with young talent up front. This talent is led my Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa and 2nd overall pick Ivan Stenberg. San Jose also added some grit in forward Mason Marchment. Additionally, they made significant upgrades on D as Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba and Michael Kesselring joined the club.
The Los Angeles Kings are going to look a bit different this year. new coach Peter Laviolette is more of an offensive minded coach, which is a different style than what the Kings are used to. This was in full force during a 8-4 opening night loss to the Colorado Avalanche. While Colorado poses a mismatch to many teams, I don't see how this very slow Los Angeles blue-line is going to keep up with the speed of this Sharks forward group. I absolutely love this price on the Sharks to get to 4 goals tonight, which they did in 2 of the 3 head to head meetings last season.
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