San Jose at Vegas

This might be the first time the season opener is a huge revenge game as the Golden Knights still have nightmares about losing the seventh game of the Western Conference first round after blowing a 3-0 lead. Cody Eakin cross-checked Joe Pavelski and was assessed a controversial major penalty. The Sharks went on to score four goals in nearly four minutes and then won 5-4 in overtime. Vegas will depend upon goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to stay healthy after he played 61 games last season and finished with a 2.51 goals-against average. The Knights retain their top five scorers but they need to return their power-play prowess to their inaugural season when it was one of the best in the league before finishing 25th in 2018-19. San Jose finished last season, losing three in a row to eventual champion St. Louis. San Jose goalie Martin Jones was somewhat disappointing and his save percentage was the worst of all goalies that played at least 50 games. Vegas won nine of its last 13 home games and enjoys one of the toughest home-ice advantages in the NHL. Back the Golden Knights.