Which games should you bet on during Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy? See our picks for each game

The NHL is going big on Tuesday with its first-ever 16-game slate and the league is doing fans (and bettors) a massive favor by staggering the start times of each contest so that no two games drop the puck at the same time.

With every team in action, I’ve jotted down a couple of quick thoughts for all 16 contests and whether or not bettors should pass or play.

It’s tough to pass on the first game on a night like this and Toronto seems like a vulnerable favorite at these kinds of prices, but the Caps have been so bad defensively that it’s hard to back them here. There are other underdogs that I’d rather play.

With plenty of young talent, decent goaltending and enough effective depth players, the Ducks have punched up pretty well in the early going this season. It’s a tough travel spot, but Anaheim is in range for a play against a very leaky defense.

Two offseason darlings meet for the first time this season but this looks like it is priced about right.

The Canes and Bolts have been two of the best defensive teams in the NHL for years, but they are both bleeding goals to start the new campaign. The over will be a popular play, but sometimes it’s hip to be square. This should be a barnburner.

The Montreal Canadiens have played better defense than the numbers suggest, while the Devils have actually struggled to generate scoring chances at 5-on-5 to start the season. A look to the under is tempting, but the goaltending matchup could be too jittery.

I thought the Penguins were getting too much love in the offseason for adding to their strengths and not addressing their weaknesses and so far that seems to be the case. The Stars are just a better team than the Pens, plain and simple.

The Sharks are basically unbettable at this point and it’s really hard to lay this kind of lumber with the Panthers considering their inconsistent play and injuries.

It’s always tempting to bet Ilya Sorokin at these kinds of prices, but this game could end up being a bit of a rock fight with high-flying Colorado trying to figure out how to break down the Islanders.

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This seems like a great buy-low, sell-high spot with the Kraken struggling and the Red Wings sitting pretty at 5-1 with a +15 goal difference, but the price just isn’t good enough for a bet on Seattle.

This is a potential banana skin for the Bruins, who are wrapping up a four-game road trip that saw them swing through California over the weekend. The Blackhawks are worth a play at this price.

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The Jets have played a lot better than their record suggests and caught a raw deal in a recent loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Meanwhile, the Blues have largely been a mess out of the gates and have been bailed out by great goaltending. I’d lean towards Winnipeg but it’s hard to trust the Jets at this price right now.

Both of these teams have been very poor out of the gates and are dealing with injury issues (most notably Connor McDavid), but over the long-term I expect Edmonton to be considerably better than Minnesota and think this is a good buy-low spot on the Oil.

Nothing to see here in what looks like a coin flip game between two sides that have been inconsistent out of the gates.

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The Rangers will catch the Flames in a good spot here as Calgary travels across the continent after a road trip out East. Calgary will also be missing Rasmus Andersson and will be on the wrong side of the goaltending matchup.

The Coyotes are 3-2 but even that record undersells how strong Arizona has been out of the gates. Both of Arizona’s losses were by one goal in a tricky back-to-back against the Rangers and Islanders, and they have impressive wins over New Jersey and St. Louis on the road. The goaltending edge is decidedly in Arizona’s favor here.

The Golden Knights deserve a ton of credit for their perfect start but the numbers don’t suggest they’ve been elite at all. The Flyers have been impressive and are feisty at this kind of price.

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