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Opening night was fun. More importantly, you won money if you followed along with the opening night betting guide. The Washington Capitals won, the Ottawa Senators hit the over 2.5 goals, Auston Matthews found the back of the net, and Brock Boeser scored.

It was a fun night, but things are about to kick into high gear. Here's how to approach betting a busy four-day slate over the weekend:

Game betting

New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres (Saturday)

I'm not as high on the Devils as most this season, but the Sabres are bad and New Jersey has won in seven of its last eight visits to Buffalo. The Devils will likely be very short favorites, making a play on them even more appealing.

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday)

The Leafs should be huge favorites again in this one, sapping any value in backing them. They will be flying home for the second half of back-to-back games after playing on Friday night in Columbus, a situation that's produced six consecutive unders for them.

With Carey Price and Frederik Andersen likely in goal, the under is worth a hard look for this Saturday night showdown.

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators (Saturday)

The Senators won't win much in 2019-20, but this is a great spot to back them at plus money. The Rangers have lost eight straight in Ottawa and are hardly deserving of the love the oddsmakers will probably give them in this spot.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday)

If losing streaks are your thing, then this is one of those empty-the-account type of plays. The Penguins have won 10 straight over the Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh, with seven of those victories coming by at least two goals, making the puck line well worth a look.

Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues (Saturday)

The Stars and Blues play fundamentally sound defense and limit goals. Six of the last seven meetings between the two teams in St. Louis have gone under the 5.5 total.

The game should be profitable again on Saturday.

Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers (Saturday)

This is another spot where goals have typically been scarce. Six of the last seven meetings between the Kings and Oilers in Edmonton have gone under. The Kings have also lost six of those games. Oilers and the under parlay, anyone?

San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks (Saturday)

The Sharks have hit six consecutive overs when on the road and in the second leg of back-to-back games. Both their contests against the Ducks in Anaheim went over last year as well, so let's stick with tradition here.

Game props

Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators (Thursday)

The Wild haven't beaten the Predators in Nashville since 2016, and the team has scored just seven goals over its last five games there. Take the team total under 2.5.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Columbus Blue Jackets (Friday)

Since Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner came into the league three seasons ago, the Leafs have played six games in Columbus, with each contest featuring two-plus goals in the first period. Hit that over 1.5 in the opening 20 minutes and don't look back.

Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (Saturday)

The Avalanche are going to score a lot this season, and they should come out of the gate firing against the Wild. The first period has gone over 1.5 goals in each of the last five meetings between these two teams in Colorado.

San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks (Saturday)

Let's revisit this game for a second. You saw the over trend in this spot for the Sharks (see above). Combine that with their last five games in Anaheim producing two-plus goals in the first period, and we get a tasty play here.

Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames (Saturday)

At this rate, we might as well play the first period over in every game this weekend and hope for the best. This could be the strongest play of them all though, with 11 of the last 12 meetings between the Canucks and Flames in Calgary featuring two-plus goals in the opening frame.

Player props

Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes (Thursday)

Andrei Svechnikov scored 20 goals as a rookie last season for the Hurricanes, and he could realistically come close to doubling that tally this year. The sniper potted three against the Habs last season, and he's well worth a look to score his first this campaign in Carolina's season opener at +180.

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday)

Max Domi has made no attempt to hide his disdain for the Maple Leafs. The Toronto-born forward enjoyed a breakout first season with the Canadiens in 2019-20, including six points in four games against the Leafs. Back him to go over 0.5 assists on Hockey Night in Canada.

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals (Saturday)

There's nothing like celebrating a new contract with a goal. Sebastian Aho got paid this summer, and he's enjoyed plenty of success against the Capitals during his young career.

With eight goals and 17 points in 12 career games against Washington, don't bet against him adding to that total on Saturday. Take the over on 0.5 points.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday)

If you've already bet on the Pens in this game, why not spice it up even more with a wager on Jake Guentzel to score? He's recorded more goals against Columbus (seven) than any other team in his career.

Winnipeg Jets at New York Islanders (Sunday)

Have you seen who's playing defense for the Jets these days? It's not great.

Anders Lee has scored 11 goals over 12 career games versus Winnipeg, while Mathew Barzal has netted four in four clashes against the Jets. Backing both Islanders forwards to score would return a profit as long as one of them finds the back of the net. If they both do, happy Sunday.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have inked forward Alex DeBrincat to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $6.4 million, the team announced on Thursday.

DeBrincat is on the final year of his entry-level deal, and his extension keeps him with the Blackhawks through the 2022-23 season. He'll become a restricted free agent when it expires.

The 21-year-old broke out last season, recording 41 goals and 76 points over 82 games in his second NHL campaign.

DeBrincat was a steal for Chicago in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He ranks fourth in both points (128) and goals (69) among all players from that class.

By extending DeBrincat, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman did his best to get ahead of what could be a very busy 2020 offseason for the club. Young forwards Dylan Strome, Drake Caggiula, Brendan Perlini, and Dominik Kubalik are all set to become restricted free agents next summer.

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After scoring the game-winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks in the season opener on Wednesday night, Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid said he was grateful to play an important role in the victory following a difficult summer of rehab from a knee injury.

"Pretty close to (100%). I've still got lots of kinks to work out in my game," McDavid told Sportsnet's Scott Oake. "I've been working toward it but that goal means the world to me, honestly, it was a long summer and that just means the world to me."

McDavid suffered a torn PCL in the final game of the 2018-19 campaign, which created doubts about his status for the start of this season.

But with the score tied 2-2 on Wednesday, the 22-year-old flashed his trademark speed to split through the Canucks' defense before tucking the puck underneath the crossbar with 5:23 to play in the third period.

Overall, McDavid logged 21:40 of ice time and registered a pair of shots on goal in the 3-2 victory.

The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner finished last season with 41 goals and a career-best 116 points.

The Oilers will continue their campaign on Saturday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings.

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The NHL season triumphantly returned Wednesday night, featuring a four-game slate that included dramatic pregame ceremonies, a captaincy unveiling, an overtime winner, and much more.

To put a bow on the first night of the 2019-20 campaign, here's one takeaway from each contest.

Leafs finish strong on captaincy night

After weeks of suspense, the Toronto Maple Leafs anointed John Tavares as captain to kick off opening night. However, the hype of the announcement was short-lived, as Brady Tkachuk put the Ottawa Senators in front 25 seconds after puck drop to completely suck the life out of Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto ultimately lured its home crowd back in, putting together a dominant performance en route to a 5-3 victory. They did so with flash, too, with Auston Matthews burying two goals and all the new bodies from a summer full of roster turnover contributing nicely; Tyson Barrie racked up two primary assists, Ilya Mikheyev notched his first NHL goal, and rookies Rasmus Sandin and Dmytro Timashov each collected the first point of their careers.

When the final whistle blew, the Leafs had controlled 59% of shot attempts, 59% of scoring chances, and 62% of expected goals at five-on-five.

Caps' top six spoil banner night

In a battle of the two most recent Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals took down the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. The home squad started hot with two goals in the first eight minutes, but the Caps took over from there and didn't look back.

Washington finished the game at 59% Corsi For while owning 60% of scoring chances and 61% of expected goals at five-on-five. The club found a ton of success through their top two lines, which is a great sign moving forward.

As usual, Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net while his line produced several chances, but Washington's second line of Jakub Vrana, Lars Eller, and T.J. Oshie did considerable damage as well. The trio owned a whopping 73% of shot attempts, and Vrana - who's expected to take on a larger role in the offense this season - registered five shots and the overtime winner in over 17 minutes of work.

Look out for this offense when Evgeny Kuznetsov returns from suspension.

McDavid and Draisaitl: Still very good

The Edmonton Oilers didn't look all that inspiring hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, but their two superstars did enough to treat the home crowd to a win.

First off, Leon Draisaitl was a force. He skated with purpose and picked up right where he left off from a season ago with two goals and an assist. Then there's Connor McDavid, who looked merely pedestrian until a third period showstopper electrified Rogers Place and completed the Oilers' late comeback.

Edmonton entered the season hoping for more out of its supporting cast, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.

It's worth noting the Canucks looked solid in this one. They largely controlled play at even strength, while Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes all found the scoresheet. Tough result in what was an encouraging performance for Vancouver.

The Golden Knights are scary

Only one side of the high-profile Pacific Division rivalry was ready for the rematch of last season's controversial playoff series, and it wasn't the San Jose Sharks.

Vegas seemingly played in a higher gear all night, cruising to a 4-1 victory. The Golden Knights were in control in all facets of the game, scoring a goal on the power play, shorthanded, and two at even strength. They also out-chanced the Sharks 29-8 at five-on-five, and won the overall shot battle 35-22.

The Golden Knights' top line had 14 shot attempts to four against, while Mark Stone and rookie Cody Glass - two thirds of the club's second unit - each scored. A full season of Stone stands to be huge for Vegas, who fully looked the part of a Stanley Cup contender in its first test on Wednesday.

(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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A scary incident occurred in the waning minutes of the Ottawa Senators-Toronto Maple Leafs game Wednesday night, as Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom took Auston Matthews' skate in the face as he was trying to prevent an empty-net goal.

Brannstrom received a few stitches but will be fine, Senators head coach D.J. Smith told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

The Swedish blue-liner was the key return in the Mark Stone trade with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. The 20-year-old tallied 32 points in 50 AHL games in 2018-19.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs tabbed John Tavares as the 25th captain in franchise history prior to Wednesday's season opener against the Ottawa Senators.

Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner were named alternate captains. The latter two will rotate throughout the season, the team announced.

The Maple Leafs decided the captaincy well before learning of Matthews' disorderly conduct charge last week, general manager Kyle Dubas said during the first intermission, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Tavares, 29, becomes the first Leaf to wear the captain's "C" since Dion Phaneuf in 2015-16. The Oakville, Ontario native served as captain of the New York Islanders for five seasons before signing a seven-year, $77-million contract with Toronto on July 1, 2018. He scored 47 goals in his first season with the Maple Leafs.

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