Stories to watch as NHL season opens

TORONTO — The National Hockey League’s regular season opens Wednesday with four games, including the Maple Leafs home to the Canadiens and the defending champion Capitals hosting the Bruins. Here are some predictions for the season:

Matthews: 50 goals

With improvements to his shot and skating — and the fact he’s now on the Leafs’ top power-play unit — Auston Matthews has

50 in his sights.

Marner: 90 points

Mitch Marner is arguably the Leafs’ driving force, especially with the man advantage. He has 90-point potential, and was on that pace over the final 37 games of last season.

Tavares: 100 points

Leafs centre John Tavares has never hit the century mark in points. His career high is 86 in 2014-15. He should pass that mark and then some.

Lightning: Cup winners

Tampa Bay players made it their mission to win the Cup last season after failing to make the playoffs the year before. They fell short and then lost general manager Steve Yzerman. They essentially come into this season with the same roster, though, and signed Nikita Kucherov and

Ryan McDonagh to long-term contracts. They need to do it this season with a salary-cap crunch looming.

Knights: Cup finalists again

The second-year outfit in Vegas is so far ahead of the curve, does anyone want to bet against them?

McDavid: 50 goals

Oilers captain Connor McDavid is faster and more poised than ever in all aspects of his game. He’s due for a monster season, including 50 goals for the first time. He’s climbed steadily in his first three seasons: from 16 goals to 30 to 41. His team is also on a mission after missing the playoffs.

Surprise, surprise

The New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche came out of nowhere to reach the playoffs last season. They could build on that momentum and advance further this coming spring …. This year’s long shot that no one saw coming? How about the Detroit Red Wings … Sleeper goalie: Carter Hutton of the Sabres … Sleeper forward: Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers.

100-point club

There have been eight

100-point scorers in the past eight NHL seasons combined. With speed and puck movement increasing rapidly, there could be eight this season alone: McDavid, Kucherov, Matthews, Blake Wheeler, Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall.

Rules madness

Faceoff restrictions will replace offside challenges as the hot-button issue across the league. The pre-season saw several instances where players were on the verge of meltdowns after ejections from the faceoff circle for violations.. There’s a lot of grey area that needs to be clarified.

Kovalchuk: 25 goals

Ilya Kovalchuk returns on a three-year, $18.75-million deal with the Los Angeles Kings after a five-year hiatus in Russia. That’s a big investment in a 35-year-old winger, but his NHL history (417 goals in 816 games) and KHL success (138 goals in

298 games) suggest he can still find the net with regularity.