Editor's note: the picks below are sourced from real sportsbook lines where available, not editorial gut calls. Until our picks model ships, only the marquee game carries a Vegas line. See the full slate and watch along at watch.uristocrat.com.
The WNBA playoffs force a winner tonight in the Bay Area, and the NHL drops the puck on a brand new season across five rinks. One league ending a round, another starting one, both worth your attention.
Marquee: Dallas Wings at Golden State Valkyries (9:00 PM ET, ESPN2)
Win-or-go-home. Golden State forced this Game 3 after Arike Ogunbowale dropped a playoff-record 45 points in Game 2, including a game-tying three in regulation that sent it to overtime, where the Wings finished the job. Gabby Williams answered with a career-high 36 for the Valkyries in that loss, and now the expansion franchise hosts a deciding game in just its second season. Golden State is 17-5 at Chase Center this year and gets the benefit of the floor tonight.
Vegas line: Golden State -6.5 (-110), total 157.5, moneyline Valkyries -310 / Wings +250. Source: ESPN.
Also tonight
- New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings (6:30 PM ET, TNT/truTV). One of two games anchoring the NHL's opening night doubleheader on TNT. Detroit is trying to build on back-to-back playoff appearances; the Rangers are looking to show last year's miss was the outlier.
- St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars (9:00 PM ET, TNT/truTV). TNT's second opening-night game. Dallas has been a perennial contender in the West and opens at home looking to pick up where last spring left off.
- Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets (8:00 PM ET, ESPN+). Winnipeg enters as one of the league's top regular-season teams from a year ago, now opening at home against an Original Six opponent retooling on the fly.
- Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights (10:00 PM ET, ESPN+). A young, ascending Ducks roster heads into the desert to open the season against a Vegas team that's never missed the playoffs since relocating its championship window into year nine.
- Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes (7:00 PM ET, ESPN+). Carolina opens at home again looking to finally get over the hump after another deep playoff run last spring.
Everything resets tonight. One series ends in the Bay, five more begin on the ice, and by tomorrow morning the WNBA field will be one team smaller while the NHL standings start filling in for real.
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