We are in the thick of the 2021/22 NHL season, and things are certainly heating up! Today there are two games for us fans to sink our teeth into. With four teams taking the ice, it is going to be an exciting day of NHL action, so you don’t want to miss this.
How will today’s games shake out? Which teams will be in the winners circle, and who will need to bounce back after a loss? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain, we are in for some great games! So sit back, relax and if you like to have a bet, then you have certainly come to the right place.
Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the two games on today’s schedule.
Colorado Avalanche @ Seattle Kraken – 10.00PM ET
The Colorado Avalanche end their two game road trip in Seattle when they take on the Kraken, who are in the middle of a six game home stand. The Avalanche are building nicely, after losing their first two games in November, they have gone on to win the next three in a row, and this takes their season record out to 7-5-1. The Kraken are desperately looking for answers, after dropping five games in a row, and their season record currently stands at 4-11-1.
Denis Kirilov
The Colorado Avalanche will have an easy opponent at first sight, but the Seattle Kraken shouldn’t be underestimated under any circumstances. The Avalanche are coming into this match after 3 straight wins and they will be looking to keep their momentum. They are still outside of the top 10 in the Western Conference which isn’t something acceptable for their management and for their fans. Their pre-season ambitions to win the Stanley Cup might have hurt their early stage to the 2021/22 NHL campaign which will make them fight stronger in the upcoming months.
The Seattle Kraken will use their first season in the League as a period when they can adapt to each other’s playing style and gain some experience playing together against already well-developed squads. They are 15th in the West with just 9 points out of 16 matches. The Kraken is one of the bottom teams in the overall standings and they will at least try to avoid finishing last in their rookie season. They have a lot of potential in attacking positions, but have some troubles when it comes to defense. Conceding 59 goals makes it one of the worst defenses in the League and I don’t think the Avalanche will show mercy tomorrow. I am picking Colorado as the winner of the game.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-172)
Tony Battalio
The Colorado Avalanche came into the 2021-22 National Hockey League season as a favorite to dethrone the Tampa Bay Lightning and win the Stanley Cup Trophy. However their play thus far this season has clearly not lived up to expectations. Through the season’s first few weeks, Colorado currently has a record of 7-5-1 through 13 games on the year. They also come into this game with a three game winning streak that they will be looking to extend in the finale of a short two game road trip.
We are slightly thrown off by these practice sweaters.
(Usually, defensemen are in black, and forwards are dressed according to power play or lines!)#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/MzBMYfFGcE
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 18, 2021
The NHLs newest team, the Seattle Kraken have not received the warm welcome to the league that they were hoping for as they have struggled throughout the early stages of this season. They come into this game with Colorado with the third worst record in the league only ahead of Arizona and Montreal. They also head into this game on a five game losing streak. As for the result of this game, I do not see Seattle’s losing streak coming to an end and I expect the Colorado Avalanche to win this one going away.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+152)
Michael Lantz
The Seattle Kraken are facing first year woes: they’ve now lost five straight games, and are about to enter a stretch where they play some of the league’s top franchises. It didn’t help that the Kraken lost games to the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks during that slump—two teams with worse records than they have. Still despite their struggles, the Kraken have looked better on offense than some expected. They may rank toward the bottom in a lot of big offensive categories, but that’s because they’ve had a hard time finishing. There’s been some quality possessions and some good looks, they just haven’t been able to find the back of the net. If they can start to turn that around and get a bit better of a power play going, this young team—while maybe not fixable for a playoff run—should be able to get over some early franchise frustrations.
However, the frustrations won’t let up on Friday as they face a Colorado Avalanche team that continues to excel even without Nathan Mackinnon. The Avs have outscored opponents 17-5 in their last three and are getting major help from all-star Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog while Mackinnon recovers from a lower body injury. Going into Seattle on Friday night, they should have no problem with a Kraken team that’s disappointed on defense and goaltending. The Kraken have lost their last four by two goals or more, and while a few of those have come on empty net goals, I’ll still take Colorado to cover with ease.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+152)
Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – 10.00PM ET
The Winnipeg Jets wrap up their two game road trip in Vancouver when they take on the Canucks on Friday night. The Jets are coming off a tough loss yesterday to the Oilers, 1-2, in a shootout, which takes their season record out to 9-3-3. The Canucks keep digging themselves into a bigger and bigger hole, they are currently on a five game losing streak, and this takes their season record to 5-10-2.
Denis Kirilov
After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in a penalty shootout, the Winnipeg Jets will have to face the Vancouver Canucks in an attempt to prolong Vancouver’s losing streak. The Canucks are off to 5 straight losses recently as they are getting goals in their net almost each single period. Their defense crumbled against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche as the team conceded 7 goals in both matches. They don’t have any ambitions that go beyond reaching the Playoffs, but the bottom line for them would be having a decent record at the end of the regular season.
The Winnipeg Jets, on the other hand, strive for perfection as they battle for 1st place in the Western Conference. Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp, and Pierre-Luc Dubois lead the team in offensive positions as they manage to score goals even more frequently than expected. The Jets have the realistic chance to fight for some of the top spots for the Playoffs, but they should be careful to avoid reaching their peak form right before the most important matches for the campaign. They are a slight favorite in the upcoming meeting against Vancouver, but looking at these numbers, I’m starting to doubt the Jets, so I will go with the better option in my opinion and that is “under 6 goals”. The Canucks should have at least one game when they don’t concede four or more goals while the Jets should also start having a more conservative approach for their matches.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Under 6 (-114)
Tony Battalio
The Winnipeg Jets coming to this game following last night’s overtime and shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. They have a record of 10-3-4 coming into this game. The Jets have got off to a decent start this season. They have positioned themselves as a potential playoff team up until this point of the year. In the last two games against the Oilers they have done a good job of containing Connor McDavid though he scored in last night’s game. Now Winnipeg will look to keep the momentum rolling heading into this game with the Canucks.
Coach Travis Green speaks to the media after team workout.#Canucks pic.twitter.com/qF0UpbtKSg
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) November 18, 2021
As for the previously mentioned Vancouver Canucks, they come into this game with a record of 5-10-2. They have struggled as of late as they come into this game on a five game losing streak. It is starting to look like a lost season for them even though we are only in the middle of November. Their rebuild will take at least another two or three years to show results. As for the result of this game, I expect the Winnipeg Jets to come out of this one with a victory while also covering the spread of one and a half goals.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Winnipeg Jets (-128)
Michael Lantz
Despite a shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, the Winnipeg Jets have shown they can be major contenders in the Western Conference. Prior to Thursday night’s game, they had won three straight, including a 5-2 win against Edmonton on Tuesday night. The Jets have to feel pretty good about how they played against one of, if not the, best offense in the league, in Edmonton. A win and shootout loss, will have them feeling more confident going forward.
The Jets next opponent are the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver has been one of the league’s bigger disappointments. Nobody predicted them to be incredible, but many thought they were a dark horse playoff team. Instead, they barely sit above the Seattle Kraken for seventh place in the Pacific Division. This Canucks team has plenty of talent, and early in the season they showed some potential, but they just have not been able to click and lately they’ve been on the wrong side of some major blowouts. But, if there’s anything going for the Canucks in this one, it’s that the Jets have struggled on the road and after an intense loss to the Oilers on Thursday night, could the Jets be a bit too fatigued to give it their all in British Columbia? Against some other teams it could make sense to go against the Jets, but Vancouver is just so bad right now, even a tired Winnipeg team has my pick.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Winnipeg Jets (-128)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
