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2026 NHL Season Point Totals Predictions and Best Bets

by Ryan Cobbett - 9/23/2026

NHL season point total predictions Tage Thompson Buffalo Sabres

Puck drop of the 2026-27 NHL season is less than a week away, and there is no better time than to take a trip around the league and analyze win totals for all 32 NHL clubs. The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to defend the Stanley Cup and keep it in Raleigh for another season. Teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning are going to do everything in their power to keep Carolina from retaining the trophy. Teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders are fighting to stay relevant, while teams like the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are already looking forward for this season to be over as they continue to progress through their rebuilds. We are also getting an expanded regular season with 84 games as opposed to 82. With all that and more to look forward to this season, let’s dive into each team’s win total, and make some picks.

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Boston Bruins – 89.5

While the Bruins did manage to return to the postseason, their tenure was short lived as they were knocked out by the Buffalo Sabres in six games. However, there is plenty of good news and excitement surrounding Boston for this season as they added an offensive weapon in JJ Peterka, and some blueline depth. Expect a much-improved season from Jeremy Swayman as well.

My Pick: Over 89.5

Buffalo Sabres – 96.5

While Buffalo hit the fast forward button on their rebuilding status, the postseason run has the potential to be a one and done. While there is a young core still in place, they did lose Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram. The front office may need to add around Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin if they want to make some moves in the postseason. They will be good, but maybe not quite as good as a season ago.

My Pick: Over 96.5

Detroit Red Wings – 86.5

After another underwhelming season, the Red Wings failed to reach the postseason. Things got pretty wild over the summer as they had a change at general manager, and Dylan Larkin requested a trade and subsequently lost his captaincy as a result. While Larkin remains on the roster alongside Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat, it may be a matter of time before he is shipped elsewhere.

My Pick: Under 86.5

Florida Panthers – 107.5

This Panthers team is once again built for the playoffs, but maybe not for the regular season. While the additions of Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom are significant, this is an aged roster with injury issues. They will be the scariest team on the ice when fully healthy, but do not expect that for all of the regular season.

My Pick: Under 107.5

Montreal Canadiens – 98.5

Montreal had a magical run to the Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the eventual champions. This run gave some of their core excellent postseason experience, and the best news of all is they are young. Their postseason run elevated the status of this roster from a playoff bubble team to a playoff caliber team.

My Pick: Over 98.5

Ottawa Senators – 94.5

This is another win total that is hard to read. While they did lose Tkachuk, the Senators did add William Eklund and Andre Burakovsky. They still have some developing pieces that could turn this team around and get them back in the playoff picture, but I just do not see that happening this season.

My Pick: Under 94.5

Tampa Bay Lightning – 102.5

I am going to continue to favor the Lightning for as long as Andrei Vasilevskiy is between the pipes. In addition to all the stars that play in front of him, they added John Carlson as well to add more firepower to the roster. There are no weaknesses.

My Pick: Over 102.5

Toronto Maple Leafs – 95.5

Toronto won the draft as they drafted Gavin McKenna. They also improved in the crease with the addition of Sergei Bobrovsky. While the excitement around McKenna is palpable, I do think it will take some time before this team is headed back to being a threat in the postseason. However, they will be in the wild card race and should hit the over on the win total.

My Pick: Over 95.5

Carolina Hurricanes – 107.5

The defending champions are going to pick right off where they left off. Aside from an aging Frederik Andersen, the team remains intact. Expect the young netminders to make improvements and get this team right back in position for another deep playoff run.

My Pick: Over 107.5

Columbus Blue Jackets – 91.5

I do not have any confidence in the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. It seems like the core of this team is breaking, and with all the offseason noise around Zach Werenski, it is hard to see this team reach the playoffs if he were to be moved before the deadline.

My Pick: Under 91.5

New Jersey Devils – 95.5

The Devils have a glaring hole in the crease, but the offense should be much improved. They added Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, and Adam Boqvist which should provide enough depth behind Jack Hughes and the rest of the Devils elite offensive playmakers.

My Pick: Over 95.5

New York Islanders – 88.5

The Islanders are perhaps the most consistent team in the league. They are consistently average, failing to fall too far out of the playoff picture, but also failing to ever put together a meaningful offensive bunch. They remain anchored by Ilya Sorokin, but the skaters in front remain average.

My Pick: Under 88.5

New York Rangers – 86.5

The Rangers are going to turn things around this year. They added an elite goal scorer in Pavel Dorofeyev, and they still have Igor Shesterkin in the net. There is still a lot to like on the roster, and the rest of the division may be due for a slight regression, making more points available for the Rangers to scoop up.

My Pick: Over 86.5

Philadelphia Flyers – 93.5

Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale, and Cam York are all 25 years or younger. The front office made a strong move by bringing in Joseph Woll to platoon with Dan Vladar in the crease. This team is going to continue to improve as their core gets more and more experience, and they are an elite playmaker away from being a Stanley Cup contender.

My Pick: Over 93.5

Pittsburgh Penguins – 91.5

Sideny Crosby is holding out hope for another playoff run. Unfortunately, this roster is not built to put together a championship run, unless the front office wants to invest a whole lot more before the trade deadline. Do not expect this team to do anything but milk the final days of the Crosby tenure for ticket sales.

My Pick: Under 91.5

Washington Capitals – 99.5

The Washington Capitals have done the complete opposite of what the Penguins are doing with their aged franchise player. They added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner to the team, which adds a lot more speed and scoring options.

My Pick: Over 99.5

 Chicago Blackhawks – 78.5

Connor Bedard is going to miss the first six (ish) weeks of the season, and maybe longer. Bowen Byram and Patrick Kane were strong offseason additions, but when you lose your star, you feel the absence. Do not expect a lot from this Blackhawks team as they remain a year or two away from cracking the playoffs.

My Pick: Under 78.5

Colorado Avalanche – 107.5

The Avalanche have the best 1-2 punch in the NHL with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. They have a strong support group around them, but one of the major X-Factors for this team is whether or not their goalie tandem can perform as strongly as it did a season ago. Regardless, Colorado remains to be the team to beat in the Central Division and in the entire Western Conference.

My Pick: Over 107.5

Dallas Stars – 100.5

This is another easy over. The core of the Dallas Stars has proven itself (throughout the regular season) for years. Will this be the year they can finally put together a championship run? They are loaded from top to bottom; they just need their stars to shine in the playoffs.

My Pick: Over 100.5

Minnesota Wild – 101.5

When they added Quinn Hughes, they showed the world that they were ready to join the conversation as one of the best teams in the NHL. The Hughes experiment may be short lived if he doesn’t sign an extension. Minnesota will be highly motivated to add around him, but if he is ready to leave, that could derail the current franchise momentum.

My Pick: Over 101.5

Nashville Predators – 85.5

Nashville did a fine job adding scoring depth. However, the team lacks true star power as Filip Forsberg and others age out of their prime. They would need a major jump up in production from some of their young forwards, or an aggressive front office to reach the playoffs again. While I do think the over hits, they will remain outside the playoff picture again this season.

My Pick: Over 85.5

St. Louis Blues – 84.5

I think the sportsbooks are setting the bar very low on the Blues. This is one of the easiest selections heading into the season. They added some offense with the additions of Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish. They have a strong blueline group, and while they won’t make the playoffs, they will reach 85+ points on the season.

My Pick: Over 84.5

Utah Mammoth – 96.5

After reaching the playoffs, the Mammoth took some more steps forward this offseason with the additions of Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck. These veterans wash the loss of Peterka and boost the depth chart around Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz. Don’t sleep on this team, they are primed to be the league’s biggest dark horse.

My Pick: Over 96.5

Winnipeg Jets – 88.5

Winnipeg is in a bind. There winning days are over, as short as they were. Connor Hellebuyck wants out, and the franchise cannot win without him. The franchise hangs in the balance of whether or not Hellebuyck can be convinced to stay. Expect a blockbuster at some point this season, and the front office hitting the rebuild button as a result.

My Pick: Under 88.5

Anaheim Ducks – 95.5

While the Ducks did make significant improvements this last season by making the playoffs, and significantly improving on their win total, they are near their ceiling given the state of their current roster. I am staying away from this win total, unless the Ducks go add some firepower to the roster.

My Pick: Under 95.5

Calgary Flames – 77.5

The Flames are definitely in the midst of the rebuild, and any offseason additions need to be seen as short term ticket sales solutions and trade pieces by the beginning of the new year. While they round out a core that can lead this team back to relevancy in this league, do not expect many wins to come for the Flames.

My Pick: Under 77.5

Edmonton Oilers – 104.5

While Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl form a 1-2 punch that can rival that of MacKinnon and Makar, their winning window has been closed. The goalie situation has yet to pan out over the later years of McDavid’s Oilers tenure, and their new addition in Andersen is already hurt. Do not expect this team to be a big threat in the postseason, and if it bottoms out early, don’t be surprised to see McDavid in a different uniform by the end of the season.

My Pick: Under 104.5

Los Angeles Kings – 95.5

The Kings are left with a huge hold in the middle of their depth chart with the retirement of Anze Kopitar. Quinton Byfield has not yet lived up to his potential, and the shoes may be too big to fill here. There just isn’t as much excitement around this team. Expect a down year. 

My Pick: Under 95.5

San Jose Sharks – 94.5

While some teams go down, others must go up. San Jose will be ready to take any freed-up points with the regression of Edmonton and Los Angeles. Macklin Celebrini continues to show the league that the hype is real, and they added a slew of veterans to protect their young star like Darnell Nurse, Mason Marchment, and Jacob Trouba. San Jose is a dark horse.

My Pick: Over 94.5

Seattle Kraken – 81.5

Unfortunately for Seattle, none of their draft picks have really panned out for them, and they continue to make underwhelming moves in the offseason. This is a wait and see kind of year as they continue to give their current core more time to gel together and hopefully leap forward. However, I do not see that happening.

My Pick: Under 81.5

Vancouver Canucks – 74.5

You can smell the rebuild coming all around the city of Vancouver. The offseason additions of Brendan Gallagher and Jamie Oleksiak do not move the needle any closer to a playoff appearance, and the team is likely to begin dumping some major salary at some point in the season to collect future capital.

My Pick: Under 74.5

Vegas Golden Knights – 103.5

Vegas lost a serious goal scorer in Dorofeyev as cap space got too tight. They are an older roster, and while the sparks are still there for Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, and Jack Eichel, the new coaching changes could significantly impact the gelling of this team as their winning window begins to narrow. Expect the Pacific Division to be more competitive than last season, which will take some points from Vegas.

My Pick: Under 103.5

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