It’s a full night of sports ahead of us with the NHL and NFL both in play.The Anaheim Ducks take on the Pittsburgh Penguins to open their 2014-2015 Stanley Cup championship run. Meanwhile, in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts go head-to-head against their AFC South rivals, the Houston Texans.
Get yourself set for a weekend of football action. Check out the best games to watch in Week 7 of college football, as well as our complete picks and predictions for NFL Week 6.
[sc:NHL240 ]Two division champions are set to collide in their season openers when the Pacific Division’s Anaheim Ducks visit the Metropolitan Division’s Pittsburgh Penguins. 2013-2014 MVP, Sidney Crosby spearheads the Penguins’ attack after finishing with 36 goals and a league-high 104 points last season, while Marc-Andre Fleury takes care of business between the pipes. Fleury is 4-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average in five career home starts against the Ducks.
Still, an attacking duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, who combined for 74 goals last season, should challenge the Penguins’ goaltender. Anaheim averaged with an NHL-best 3.21 goals per game last season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Penguins start their season with a win against the Ducks.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans (8:25 PM ET)
Line: Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Houston Texans (+3); total 47.0 – view all NFL lines
The Indianapolis Colts open their divisional play with the Houston Texans, and they have two things to worry about. First, they’ll need to keep Texans defensive end J.J. Watt away from Andrew Luck to ensure a smooth passing game. Watt has four sacks against Luck in four meetings against the Colts. Second, the Colts will need to contain running back Arian Foster, who’s averaged 150.4 yards a game in five-career matchups against them.
Nevertheless, the Colts have looked dominant in three-straight wins this season. They have the best passing offense (averaging 321.8 yards per game) in the league with Andrew Luck behind center. They should be able to design plays to exploit the Texans’ pass defense which allowed 316 yards against Dallas last week and 253.2 per game this season. The Colts have won nine straight Thursday Night Football games.
Writer’s Prediction
It’s going to be close. Arian Foster runs roughshod against the Colts, but Andrew Luck answers back with some crucial passes to cover and win the game. Create a betting account now and get your daily those of sports betting.
