Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Wednesday October 11th: Sam Houston vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET
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The Ottawa Senators face the Carolina Hurricanes to open up the season. The Senators are coming off a rough season but with a young and promising cor,e they look to take a big leap in the standings this season. The Hurricanes were the best team in the Metropolitan Division and came four games away from the Stanley Cup Final, making this season a Cup-or-bust one. Both teams are looking to make a statement in the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game looks to be a great one.
The Senators missed the playoffs but showed flashes last season behind a young and talented offense that averaged 3.16 goals per game. Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Claude Giroux led the offense with 109 goals and 143 assists but the entire forward unit was great. Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto combined for 42 goals and 55 assists and Joshua Norris, one of their top centers, looks to return to the lineup after missing last season because of injury. The only concern is the loss of Alex DeBrincat as the team traded him away this offseason and will look to replace a skater who added 27 goals and 39 assists to the offense.
The offense looks to take another step forward but the defense hopes to improve after allowing 3.29 goals per game last season. Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson combined for 6.5 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit struggled and the hope is that Jakub Chychrun, who they acquired at the 2023 trade deadline can help fix the unit. Likewise, the Senators have had plenty of issues in the net and hope that Joonas Korpisalo is the answer after he had a .914 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average on 1206 shots last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings.
Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Wednesday October 11th: Sam Houston vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW