Early NHL Team Point Total Over/Under Predictions

The NHL season isn’t exactly around the corner, just yet.

That’s not to say that rosters aren’t taking shape. With the draft, free agent frenzy and trading season mostly in the rearview mirror, we can mostly gauge what each club will be featuring in terms of roster make up for the 2019-20 season.

Thanks to BetOnline, we can put such information to good use as they have released projected point totals as well as over/under odds for each NHL team.

Let’s get our NHL futures season started early with some point total over/under predictions for all 32 NHL clubs.

*Odds courtesy of BetOnline

Anaheim Ducks

• 2018-19 Point Total: 80 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 79.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

It weren’t for the early-season heroics of goaltender John Gibson, the Anaheim Ducks would not have been anywhere close to the 80 points they collected last season.

They do indeed have one of the better NHL goaltenders at their disposal, but the once-stout defense in front of him just wasn’t there last season.

There’s plenty of change underway in Orange County as an aging core is now being transitioned into a youthful roster with players such as Rickard Rakell, Ondrej Kase, Troy Terry, Sam Steel, and Max Jones expected to carry most of the load moving forward.

The Ducks will also feature Dallas Eakins as the newly-minted bench boss next season, although Eakins’ first NHL head coaching gig did not go well with the Oilers. There isn’t much improvement from a personnel standpoint, but I don’t think the Ducks, or any team, will go on such an epic losing streak like the mid-season one they went through last season. I’ll giver Eakins the benefit of the doubt as he should steer the Ducks over the 79.5 point total.

Arizona Coyotes

• 2018-19 Point Total: 86 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 90.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Coyotes deal with a host of injuries last season and were right in the mix for the final Wild Card spot in the west right up until the final week of the regular season.

They traded for sniper Phil Kessel to bolster one of the league’s most futile offenses and when healthy, have a sneaky-good one-two punch of Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta in goal. The defense is largely unchanged and remains one of the more underrated groups in hockey.

With increased injury fortune, you would think the Coyotes could eclipse the 90-point plateau. That said, you have to wonder if Kuemper can repeat his 2.33 GAA and .925 Sv% from last season and Raanta has been injured more often than not over his two-year Coyotes tenure to this point.

It should be close, but I think the ‘Yotes fall short of this total once again this year.

Boston Bruins

• 2018-19 Point Total: 107 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 100.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

Fresh off their run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, an aging Bruins team is intact for perhaps one more go during the Zdeno Chara era.

They will still sport one of the top lines in all of hockey with the Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak unit, and one of the league’s top defenses from last season will return next season along with the combination of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak in goal.

Saddled with one of the more egregious contracts in hockey in the form of David Backes’ $6M cap hit, the Bruins weren’t financially flexible enough to add secondary scoring in the offseason and will instead lean on that top line to produce much of the offense as it did last season.

The defense should keep them near the top of the standings again this time around, and I don’t expect much difference in the point total given the similar roster makeup to that of last season.

Buffalo Sabres

• 2018-19 Point Total: 76 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 83.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Sabres came out of the gate hot last season and were even leading the NHL in points at one point in the regular season’s infancy.

On the back of extreme fortune in one-goal games, the Sabres won 11 in a row at one point and looked the part of a threat in a loaded Atlantic Division. As their fortune in close games reversed, the Sabres’ season went from excitement and entertainment to full-blown dumpster fire in a matter of a handful of weeks.

They also went just 12-24-5 on the road and won just two of their last 10 games.

They re-upped 40-goal man Jeff Skinner and acquired some scoring depth in Jimmy Vesey as well as a blueline mainstay in Colin Miller. Still, the Sabres are paper-thin down the middle and continue to lack secondary scoring. The defense should improve, but no changes were made to the Carter Hutton/Linus Ullmark tandem in goal.

Improvement should be expected, but this is still an absolutely loaded Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers likely jumping into the mix as well. I don’t like the chances of an eight-point improvement in Buffalo next year.

Calgary Flames

• 2018-19 Point Total: 107 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 96.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Flames endured a rebound regular season last year that saw them pace the Western Conference with 107 regular-season points.

That’s about where the success came to an end as the Flames were unceremoniously dumped in the first round of the playoffs in just five games at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

I’m surprised the Flames didn’t opt to upgrade a blueline that was greatly exposed by the speed of the young Avs as Calgary allowed 50-plus shots in two of those five games.

They also didn’t get much of an upgrade in goal and will instead rely on sophomore David Rittich to handle the bulk of the starting duties ahead of Cam Talbot. Rittich was good early but wore down severely in the season’s second half in his first NHL campaign.

I expect the Flames to regress, but this projected point total would suggest regression of 10.5 points. I’m not sure they will fall that far, so I’ll take the over in this case.

Carolina Hurricanes

• 2018-19 Point Total: 99 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 95.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

Few teams surprised to the upside as much as the Carolina Hurricanes last season.

After a superb second half of the regular season, the Hurricanes upset the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs before dealing the Islanders a four-game sweep en route to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final where they were then swept themselves by the Boston Bruins.

The Hurricanes made some changes in the offseason, but none of them are of the impactful variety aside from signing winger Ryan Dzingel to a two-year deal in free agency. On paper, the Hurricanes still lack the goal-scoring depth behind the Sebastian Aho top line, however as we saw in the second half of the season last year, the Hurricanes have the ability to out-perform their perceived lack of scoring.

Goaltending could be an issue with Petr Mrazek and James Reimer set to split duties as Curtis McElhinney moved onto the Tampa Bay Lightning in free agency.

While last season’s surprise performance was impressive, I don’t think a repeat is in the cards and I think they will slip under the total this time around.

Chicago Blackhawks

• 2018-19 Point Total: 84 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 90.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Blackhawks “re-tool” continued last season and the offense improved, however, the defense was one of the worst in the NHL, but they have at least made some moves to address their back end.

GM Stan Bowman acquired Olli Maatta from the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as Calvin de Haan from the Carolina Hurricanes. The acquisitions are nice and should provide more stability on the back end, however, the Blackhawks still have a couple of declining veterans on their hands in Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith who are 34 and 36 years of age, respectively.

That said, the goaltending situation has improved with the addition of 2018-19 Vezina finalist Robin Lehner while a healthy Corey Crawford could do wonders for the Blackhawks.

Led by Patrick Kane and a possible 40-goal man in Alex DeBrincat, the offense could be a top-10 group that could steal some games on its own.

I think the Blackhawks could bounce back into the postseason next year and I think they’ll get over the 90.5 point total in doing so.

Colorado Avalanche

• 2018-19 Point Total: 90 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 98.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Avs endured a mid-season slump of their own that almost cost them a trip to the postseason, but a late rally got them in and they made good use of that spot in upsetting the top-seeded Flames in the first round.

Big offseason changes were still afoot as Colorado made a blockbuster deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that saw Colorado exchange Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot for Nazem Kadri and defensive prospect Calle Rosen.

The addition of Kadri gives the Avalanche a bonafide second-line center to put behind Nathan MacKinnon to give the Avs a real nice one-two punch down the middle. Colorado also acquired Andre Burakovsky from the Capitals to help with the secondary scoring behind the deadly trio of MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog.

The Avalanche are listed at +1400 to win the Stanley Cup next season, the fifth-best odds as per BetOnline. That type of status should have them netting triple-digit regular-season points, and I agree that they should be one of the best in the west next season. Give me the over.

Columbus Blue Jackets

• 2018-19 Point Total: 98 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 84.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

It’s been a whirlwind several months for the Blue Jackets organization.

Rather than moving pending UFAs Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky at the February trade deadline, GM Jarmo Kekäläinen instead bolstered his lineup in all-in moves to acquire Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Adam McQuaid. The Jackets shocked the hockey world with a sweep of the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, however, were eliminated in the second round in six games.

Fast forward a few months and Panarin is a New York Ranger, Bobrovsky a Florida Panther, Duchene a Nashville Predator and Dzingel a Carolina Hurricane. The departures have left the Jackets’ roster depleted, especially up front despite the addition of Gustav Nyquist in free agency.

 Clearly, the oddsmakers are also expecting some big-time regression from the Jackets. The Metropolitan Division isn’t as deep as the Atlantic, but the Eastern Conference is a gauntlet of high-end teams. Without much offensive upside and without a goaltender to replace Bobrovsky, it could be a long year in Columbus. I’ll take the under.

Dallas Stars

• 2018-19 Point Total: 93 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 96.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Stars came within one overtime goal of eliminating the future Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in last year’s postseason, and I’d expect Dallas to get back into the postseason again this time around.

Led by Ben Bishop, who in my opinion was robbed of the Vezina Trophy, the Stars boasted the league’s second-ranked defense last season, a group that received a puck-moving upgrade in the form of bought-out defenseman Andrej Sekera.

Secondary scoring was a big-time need that was addressed in free agency as the Stars inked veteran Joe Pavelski to a three-year deal before signing the bought-out Corey Perry to a one-year deal in hopes of a bounce-back season. They already sport one of the top lines in hockey with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov leading the way and Pavelski should pair with breakout young center Roope Hintz on the second line.

I think the Stars, assuming full health, actually have a shot to be the best in the west next season. They’re a nice value pick to win the Cup and I think they indeed net at least a four-point improvement from last season in the process.

Detroit Red Wings

• 2018-19 Point Total: 74 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 75.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Red Wings’ rebuild continues as they face another year of likely missing the postseason, but this time under the tutelage of former captain and now GM Steve Yzerman.

Yzerman inherits a team with some star potential among the forward group, but also a club light on the back end at the moment. There’s help on the way in youngsters Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski, but it’s going to be hard to prevent goals again this season in the motor city.

In a difficult Eastern Conference loaded with teams sporting high-octane offenses, the Red Wings will be in tough. I don’t think their back end will be able to handle such offenses and I think they remain under the 75.5 point total as a result.

Edmonton Oilers

• 2018-19 Point Total: 79 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 85.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The majority of change in Edmonton this offseason has been off the ice as the Oilers hired former Red Wings GM Ken Holland, who in turn hired veteran head coach Dave Tippett to help steer this franchise in the proper direction.

As Barry Trotz and his Islanders showed us last season, sometimes a new voice and new systems can turn a stale roster into a winner – and it appears the Oilers are hoping that’s the case as there hasn’t been much roster personnel change at all.

The Oilers and rival Flames exchanged bad contracts in Milan Lucic and James Neal while the Oilers also brought in former Canuck Markus Granlund on a one-year pact.

It’s so hard to bet against Connor McDavid despite the Oilers’ struggles over the last couple of years. I think there’s an improvement to be had an I’ll roll the dice on a seven-point improvement given the success Holland and Tippett have enjoyed in their respective careers.

Florida Panthers

• 2018-19 Point Total: 86 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 96.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Panthers didn’t waste any time in going out and getting their man in the form of Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency.

The Panthers’ goaltending was some of the worst in the league last season as Roberto Luongo struggled for consistency and health while James Reimer endured another tough season in Sunrise.

The goaltending troubles should be behind them with Bobrovsky in tow while the Panthers also added to their blueline with veteran Anton Stralman.

As a result, many expect the Panthers to be playoff-bound this season, but it took a whopping 98 points to get into the dance in the east last year. With the decorated Joel Quenneville calling the shots behind the bench, I think the Panthers indeed get into the postseason and I think they eclipse this point total in the process.

Los Angeles Kings

• 2018-19 Point Total: 71 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 73.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Kings were probably the most disappointing team in the NHL last season as they were expected to remain a contender but floundered early and never recovered.

Still saddled with an aging and expensive core of forwards, it’s hard to imagine any leaps for the Kings this season. Even with a 2.30 GAA and .928 Sv% in 30 appearances from Jack Campbell, the Kings’ back end struggled and their offense was one of the worst in the business.

Someone has to finish in the basement and it could very well be the Kings this season. I’ll take the under here with no roster improvements in the offseason.

Minnesota Wild

• 2018-19 Point Total: 83 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 85.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

It was a puzzling offseason for the Wild.

Like the Kings, the Wild’s core is both aging and expensive. The biggest move they made was signing 31-year-old Mats Zuccarello to a five-year, $30M contract. To this point, they’ve also failed to move their biggest trade chip in winger Jason Zucker.

The back end is where the Wild need to be good in order to have success. The likes of Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin form a solid top four and one that could help prevent goals if Devan Dubnyk can have a bounce-back season.

Still, a puzzling offseason cost GM Paul Fenton his job and the Wild are very much a team without an identity at this point. It’s hard to envision any improvement from a season ago.

Montreal Canadiens

• 2018-19 Point Total: 96 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 88.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Montreal Canadiens were a surprise contender last season and fell just three points shy of a playoff spot when factoring in the regulation+overtime wins tie-breaker.

With a healthy and productive Carey Price, Montreal can compete. It’s no coincidence that Price bounced back in 2018-19 and the Canadiens turned into a postseason contender.

However, a failed offer sheet for Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho was, unfortunately, the biggest offseason news out of Montreal. They managed to address a need on the left side of their defense with free agent Ben Chiarot. You wonder if Max Domi can repeat his success in his first season in Montreal while the blueline still looks thin, especially if Shea Weber’s decline continues, which is likely.

Again, in a tough conference with last year’s bottom-feeding teams improving, the Canadiens might be in trouble this season.

Give me the under.

Nashville Predators

• 2018-19 Point Total: 100 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 97.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Predators send P.K. Subban and the $27M remaining on his contract to the New Jersey Devils in order to open up the cap space to acquire Matt Duchene in free agency, which they accomplished.

With Duchene in two, the Predators are set down the middle along with Ryan Johansen, Kyle Turris and Nick Bonino as the fourth-line pivot.

The back end remains strong as youngster Dante Fabbro will soften the blow of losing Subban, and Pekka Rinne didn’t show much decline at the age of 36 with a 2.42 GAA and .918 Sv%, the latter of which matches his career number.

If Rinne can stay healthy and productive, the Predators should remain one of the best teams in the west. I think this one is close and I’ll give the Preds the benefit of the doubt given the offensive upgrade of Duchene.

New Jersey Devils

• 2018-19 Point Total: 72 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 89.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Devils should be better next season, there’s no doubt about that.

On top of acquiring Subban, New Jersey drafted center Jack Hughes with the first overall pick, signed veteran Wayne Simmonds in free agency and traded for prospect Nikita Gusev from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Apparently, the oddsmakers are expecting massive improvement, and I can’t say that I agree.

The Devils finished with 72 points last season – second-worst in the east and third-worst overall. Subban is a good player, but he’s also coming off his lowest point total of his career and battled injuries as well. Hughes will be good, but he’s an 18-year-old center that struggled against pro players at the World Championship. Simmonds is declining and Gusev has not played an NHL game.

That acquisitions are good, but let’s not get carried away. This is an easy under for me.

New York Islanders

• 2018-19 Point Total: 103 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 92.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Islanders were the most surprising team in hockey last season as they almost took down the Metropolitan Division and swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.

They re-signed free agents Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle, and Anders Lee, but also lost Robin Lehner in free agency before signing veteran Semyon Varlamov as his replacement.

The Islanders went from worst to first in team defense last season. The goaltending numbers were excellent between Lehner and Thomas Greiss, however, it was the system implemented by Trotz that was the key to success.

The Islanders can regress by 10 points and still hit the over. Trotz has had so much success in his career that I don’t envision the Islanders regressing that much. I’ll take the over.

New York Rangers

• 2018-19 Point Total: 78 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 87.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

Prior to the 2017-18 trade deadline, the Rangers’ front office publicly declared a rebuild. A little more than a year later, the fruit of that rebuild is looking awfully good and the rebuild appears as if it will be a snappy one.

Not only do the Rangers have a host of attractive young players, but they also went out and signed the top free agent on the market in Artemi Panarin after trading for 25-year-old stud Jacob Trouba to bolster their weak blueline.

Henrik Lundqvist is in decline, but Alexandar Georgiev should see more reps after looking awfully good at times last year. The direction of this franchise has improved immensely in a short period of time and it shouldn’t be long until the Rangers are full-blown contenders.

However, as I’ve mentioned before, this is a difficult Eastern Conference full of teams that are either Cup contenders or improved quite a bit themselves this offseason. Playoff contention will be a stretch, but I do believe they eclipse this point total.

Ottawa Senators

• 2018-19 Point Total: 64 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 68.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Senators were easily the worst team in hockey last season and didn’t even get a chance at a lottery pick thanks to their 2017-18 trade for Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche.

There isn’t much to look forward to at all given the makeup of the roster aside from the continued development of young pillars Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk.

It’s going to be a long season in Canada’s capital, there’s no doubt about that. There are going to be some rough nights and a lot of lopsided losses. They managed just 64 points and had Duchene, Dzingel and Mark Stone on the roster for a large chunk of the season. I don’t see how they improve by five points without those players this time around.

Philadelphia Flyers

• 2018-19 Point Total: 82 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 90.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Flyers ranked 29th on defense last season, and they managed to address that issue with some low-key yet savvy moves.

New GM Chuck Fletcher had an eventful offseason that included acquiring defensemen Matt Niskanen from the Washington Capitals and Justin Braun from the San Jose Sharks. The moves aren’t sexy, but they addressed a need and the Flyers’ defense will be better as a result.

Fletcher also nabbed Kevin Hayes from the Winnipeg Jets before signing the UFA-to-be to a long-term deal, giving him some excellent depth down the middle of the forward group.

As a result, I like the Flyers as a value pick to win the Stanley Cup next season given their +2800 odds to do so. Of course, I also expect them to be a playoff team, making this one an easy decision for me.

Pittsburgh Penguins

• 2018-19 Point Total: 100 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 94.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Penguins have been contenders as long as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been forming one of the game’s best one-two punches.

It will be a fight to the playoffs again this year, however.

The Penguins received Alex Galchenyuk in the Phil Kessel deal with the Coyotes, giving them a weapon on the wing of either Crosby or Malkin and it’s not hard to envision a career-year en route for the 25-year-old.
They also acquired another young forward in Dominik Kahun in the Olli Maatta trade with the Blackhawks, but I think the Pens’ success, or lack thereof, will depend on one guy: goaltender Matt Murray.

If Murray is good as he was in the second half of last season, the Pens sail over the total. If he struggles like he did in the first half last season, they’ll struggle to reach this total. I’m betting on success.

San Jose Sharks

• 2018-19 Point Total: 101 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 93.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Sharks lost Joe Pavelski in free agency, but I don’t believe that blow is as big as it seems on the surface.

San Jose still has some big-time talent upfront in Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc. Pavelski wasn’t the only reason why the Sharks tied for second in league offense last season.

Keep in mind they retained Erik Karlsson before he could hit UFA status while he and Brent Burns will once again be a deadly combo from the back end.

I also believe there is nowhere for Martin Jones to go but up after posting a weak .896 Sv% last season. Perhaps there’s some regression to be had here, but not an eight-point regression. I’m taking the over with confidence.

St. Louis Blues

• 2018-19 Point Total: 99 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 96.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Blues capped an epic second half of the season with the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. From the basement to the Cup, it’s a story that will live on forever.

As they turn their attention to 2019, the Blues will feature much of the same roster. It appeared to be one of the better on-paper rosters in hockey prior to the season after some big-time offseason moves last summer, and it turned out the moves paid massive dividends.

I don’t see any reason for regression. Perhaps Jordan Binnington’s numbers regress from his outstanding rookie season, but the defense in front of him remains intact and it’s simply too difficult for me to see the Blues falling in the standings next season.

Tampa Bay Lightning

• 2018-19 Point Total: 128 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 108.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Lightning enjoyed a record-setting regular season, one that was quickly wiped out in embarrassing fashion with a four-game sweep at the hands of the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets.

Still, this is one roster not to be messed with again this season, one that is largely unchanged from their 128-point campaign a year ago.

Do I see regression? Absolutely. However, this total would suggest that the Lightning are set to regress by a whopping 19.5 points. I’m not sure should expect that much regression. I’ll take the over again here with confidence to spare.

Toronto Maple Leafs

• 2018-19 Point Total: 100 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 101.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

A 100-point season is a quality year for any club, but it seemed like a disappointing result for the Maple Leafs as they finished behind the Lightning, Bruins, Capitals, and Islanders while finishing just one point ahead of the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets and just four points up on the Montreal Canadiens.

The last quarter of their season was a struggle and they blew a 3-2 series lead to the Boston Bruins in the first round. That said, this team improved this offseason.

The addition of Tyson Barrie is massive for a club desperate for a top-pair, right-shot defenseman. They have speed and talent to burn up front and Frederik Andersen is a Vezina candidate if the defense in front of him improves, which it has done on paper.

I think the Leafs are a threat to win the east, but for now, I will easily go over the 101.5 total.

Vancouver Canucks

• 2018-19 Point Total: 81 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 90.5
• Over (-125) | Under (-105)

The Canucks were surprisingly competitive despite a weak Western Conference last season, but they tailed off at the end of the season and missed the playoffs by nine points.

There’s plenty to like about Elias Pettersson as well as Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat as the core up front, but despite signing Tyler Myers in free agency and re-signing Alexander Edler, the defense needs a ton of work.

There’s also not much to like about the Jacob Markstrom/Thatcher Demko combination in goal as Markstrom still posted a so-so 2.77 GAA and .912 Sv% in a career-high 60 starts last season, numbers that are almost identical to his career numbers.

They should be able to score some goals, but preventing them will still be difficult. I do see a little bit of improvement on last year’s point total, but a full 10-point improvement is a stretch and the under is an easy call for me on this one.

Vegas Golden Knights

• 2018-19 Point Total: 93 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 100.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

Vegas should remain a competitive team in a rather weak Pacific Division, so that alone should result in a high point total alone.

Still, there’s question marks for me. The addition of Mark Stone and the subsequent contract extension is big and the offense is better for it.

However, I wonder how much Marc-Andre Fleury has in the tank at age 35 come December. Fleury regressed to a 2.51 GAA and .913 Sv% after posting a 2.24 GAA and .927 Sv% in his first season in Vegas. The guy has played in 798 regular-season games and another 142 in the postseason. Remember, his career save percentage is a solid but unspectacular .913 as well.

There isn’t much confidence behind him in either Malcolm Subban or the newly-acquired Garrett Sparks. Despite boasting much of the same blueline save for Colin Miller, I think the Knights give up more goals this season.

I think their point total improves, but not enough to get over this total.

Washington Capitals

• 2018-19 Point Total: 104 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 96.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

The Capitals once again took down the Metropolitan Division last season, but this time were eliminated in the first round by the upstart Carolina Hurricanes.

That said, the Capitals bring much of the same roster back this season and are still as dangerous as ever up front. They’ll look for an improved regular season from Braden Holtby as he posted a 2.82 GAA and .911 Sv%, his second consecutive questionable regular-season performance. With a career 2.47 GAA and .918 Sv% in the regular season, a bounce-back is very much in the cards.

Nick Jensen is a nice addition to the blueline from last year’s trade deadline and John Carlson is a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.

The Capitals could possibly regress, but this is a sizeable regression number, so I’ll hit the over on this one.

Winnipeg Jets

• 2018-19 Point Total: 99 | 2019-20 Projected Point Total: 95.5
• Over (-115) | Under (-115)

Despite coming just one point shy of the century mark, the 2018-19 season seemed to be a disappointing one for the Jets even before losing their round one matchup to the eventual Cup champion Blues.

Connor Hellebuyck came back down to earth after a big season the year prior and Patrick Laine’s 30 goals was a regression, especially since he scored 16 goals in the month of November alone. His second-half production was almost non-existent.

The Jets were forced to trade Jacob Trouba for cap reasons and the blueline is further weakened by the loss of Myers. However, I still view the Jets as a contender to win the Central, to be sure.

Dustin Byfuglien and the underrated Josh Morrissey remain on the blueline while Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor are still one of the most productive lines in hockey.

Laine should get back over 40 goals for sure and the power play will be better for it. I’ll also look to Hellebuyck to get closer to his 2017-198 performance to boot. I’ll take the over with confidence.