Rising star Brady Tkachuk is set to make his season debut on Thursday when the Ottawa Senators (2-1-0) host former hero Erik Karlsson and the San Jose Sharks (2-0-0).
Bookmaker Bovada believes that this will be a high-octane affair with plenty of scoring. The odds are at -160 for over 5.5 goals and at -125 for over 6.0 goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 20th, 8:00 P.M. (EST)
Tkachuk missed the start of the season after his extension talks had stalled. The two parties eventually settled on a seven-year, $57.5 million deal a week ago.
The 22-year-old led the Senators with 36 points in 56 games last season and he’s developed into a very fun player to watch. Tkachuk was second in the league in both hits and shots on goal in 2020-21.
Ottawa has had a decent start to the year without their talisman on the ice winning twice at home and dropping a road outing in Toronto 3-1. Head coach D. J. Smith should be quite pleased how things have worked out as Tkachuk hasn’t been the only big player missing.
Starting netminder Matt Murray also hasn’t featured for the Senators due to a non-COVID related illness. The two-time Stanley Cup winner had a tough time in Ottawa last season but finished the year strongly and will be confident of enjoying much more success in 2021-22. He put together a below-par 10-13-1 record last season.
Murray is penciled in to make his first appearance of the season against James Reimer, who will take the ice for his Sharks debut on Thursday. The 33-year-old went a nice 15-5-2 last season with Carolina but has taken the backseat behind Adin Hill so far in San Jose.
Life in San Jose has been rough for goalies during the last few seasons as the team has been horrible defensively but there have been encouraging signs early this season that things are changing. The Sharks have so far allowed a league-low 22 shots per game after giving up 32 shots a night last season.
Karlsson, who spent nine years in Ottawa and twice won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, has a big role to play at the back and after having a very poor year offensively, he’s started to chip in at the other end again. The 31-year-old rearguard currently shares the team lead with four points.
The Sharks already boast nine goals in two games and will be ready to make Murray’s season debut a nightmare. However, Tkachuk’s presence on the ice is set to make things difficult for the visitors as well. The over has gone 10-3 in the last 13 meetings between the two and it looks like we’ll see another back-and-forth contest here.
