We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move past the mid way point in the season, each division’s ladder has already become well formed. Despite this, every single win or loss can have a significant impact on where each team will finish at the end of the season, so it is important that you don’t miss any of the action!
Here at SportsTips, we are just as keen on the NHL as you are! We spend each and every day going through the best games and previewing them for you. Our experts offer up their free NHL picks, which means that you not only get enjoyment out of watching some intriguing games, but also make extra cash while doing so!
Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the five games on today’s schedule.
Detroit Red Wings @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 7.00PM ET
The Detroit Red Wings are on the road for one game when they travel to Pittsburgh and take on the Penguins. The Red Wings are currently on a three game losing streak, after suffering defeats at the hands of the Stars, Predators and Blackhawks. The Penguins are playing on back-to-back nights and last time out they lost to the Kraken, in overtime, 1-2.
Denis Kirilov
The Detroit Red Wings are coming into this match on a 3-game losing streak as they were defeated by the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Their defense has been terrible throughout the last week in the NHL as it conceded a total of 17 goals. Overall, the team has been struggling throughout the season, but they have managed to impress us with their in-game knowledge and discipline which helped them rise to 9th place in the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Penguins were off their game in the first few games of the campaign as they had tons of their key players sidelined due to injuries. Right after Sidney Crosby’s return, the team managed to pick up its form and started going on a riot in the NHL. This eventually ended up with them reaching third place in the East with 61 points to their name which is 19 points more than their upcoming opponents. Their Playoffs spot is almost certain as they will just need to avoid suffering a huge crisis throughout the remaining games. In my opinion, the Penguins should be able to easily wrap it up in the first two periods.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins -1.5 (-112)
Tony Battalio
The Detroit Red Wings are coming into this game with a record of 18-19-6 through their first 43 games of the season. The Red Wings are currently on a three game losing streak after losing to Dallas, Nashville, and Chicago, two of those losses came by three goals. They will be looking to break that streak and keep up in the playoff races with a victory in this one over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit is currently in fifth place in the Atlantic Division as they get set to play the first and only game of this current road trip.
.@daniellabruce_ & @ArthurJRegner sit down with @89SGagner on The Word on Woodward to discuss living in Detroit, TikTok & more!
Full episode 🎥: https://t.co/q0Gc8kqz9n pic.twitter.com/kld9na0wNU
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 27, 2022
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of the back to back they dropped a game to the newest team in the National Hockey League, the Seattle Kraken by a score of 1-2 at home. Now the Penguins will be looking to bounce back with a victory in this one to regain some momentum. After the loss to Seattle the Penguins come into this game with a record of 27-10-6. As for the result of this game, I have Penguins getting right back into the win column with a victory over Detroit at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins (-280)
Jeffery Thomas
The Penguins will be happy to get a quick turnaround after their flat performance on Thursday against the Kraken. They didn’t score a goal until the 3rd period and then blew the lead eventually losing 1-2 in the extra period. A win would’ve given them sole possession of first place in the Metro so they will be extra motivated Friday to get things back on track. The Red Wings are also coming in off a loss, as they fell 5-8 to Chicago on Wednesday. They were down 0-4 but twice got it within one goal, expending a lot of energy in the process. That made for a third straight loss and sent them to 18-19-6 good for fifth in the Atlantic.
Thursday’s loss to the Kraken will quickly be thrown out and Pittsburgh will get back to their winning ways at home in this one. Detroit gave up 8 at home, where they are supposed to play their best hockey and now will travel to an angry Pittsburgh team. That is not a good formula and I think Pittsburgh will come out hot and keep their foot on the gas throughout so I will take their team total over as I don’t see the Red Wings stopping them from scoring at least 4 in this one.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins Team Total – Over 3.5 (-128)
Minnesota Wild @ New York Rangers – 8.00PM ET
The Minnesota Wild kick off a four game road trip on Friday night, and their first stop is New York to take on the Rangers. The Wild are currently on a three game winning streak, and this takes their season record to 25-10-3. The Rangers are playing two nights in a row after hitting the ice against the Blue Jackets, in a game they lost 3-5.
Denis Kirilov
Two teams who have been playing on a very high level recently will face each other on Friday night in the NHL. The New York Rangers take on the Minnesota Wild in their Madison Square Garden in an attempt to get back on the winning track after suffering a tough loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers have played exceptionally well this season as they hold onto 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 60 points from 44 matches. The team relies much on its defense as their conservative approach has been the single thing that has made the difference throughout so many games.
The Minnesota Wild were off to a fantastic start of the campaign and were at the top right before the Christmas break. They, however, suffered a lot of losses in the upcoming matches that dragged them down in the standings. Before their meeting with the Rangers, they managed to win 6 out of their last 7 games which helped them climb their way to 4th place in the West with 53 points. The Minnesota Wild have a balanced performance at home and on the road and I think they might be a problem for the Rangers. I expect to see a tight game that will go all the way down the wire, so I will pick the unorthodox “tie” here.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tie (+320)
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 25-10-3 through their first 38 games of the season. They will have plenty of games to make up thanks to the COVID-19 postponements that plagued the National Hockey League in late December and early January. The Wild are currently in fourth place of the Central Division after spending parts of the season on top. The Wild have won their last three games over the Montreal Canadiens and two over the Chicago Blackhawks. They have won four of their last five games.
The New York Rangers will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In their first game they were shocked by the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 3-5. The loss to Columbus snapped a great run of play that saw the Rangers win two in a row and four of their last five games. Now they will be looking for a bounce back victory in this game over the Minnesota Wild. Despite the loss, the Rangers are still in a great position as they come into this game with a record of 28-12-4. As for the result of this game, I have the Rangers bouncing right back and picking up the victory at home over Minnesota.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+122)
Jeffery Thomas
The Rangers head into this Friday night game on the second leg of a back to back. They dropped the opening game 3-5 in Columbus to the Blue Jackets. It appears they were looking ahead to this marquee matchup with the Wild, as they sat Igor Thursday to have him ready for this one. The star goalie has won all 5 of his games since returning from COVID, only giving up 10 goals in total. They will be happy to see him back between the pipes on Friday. With the loss Thursday, the Rangers gave up their sole possession atop the Metro as they are now tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh with 60 points. The Wild lost the game and their starting goalie on New Years in the Winter Classic but have been rolling ever since, going 6-0-1 with backup Kaapo Kahkonen in net. They beat down on Montreal 8-2 in their last game out and are now starting a 3 game road trip in MSG.
As I mentioned before, Igor back in net is a big boost and even more so with it being at home. The Russian is 10-1-1 at home with a 1.97 GAA and the Rangers as a team are 13-3-2 at home on the season. With their airtight defense it’s not setting up as a great spot for the Wild, who rely heavily on their offense to carry their success. On a night where the Rangers will retire the jersey of Henrik Lundqvist, I am banking on the Rangers to put up another defensive clinic at home and pull out an emotional win for the legend.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+122)
Colorado Avalanche @ Chicago Blackhawks – 8.30PM ET
Two Central Division rivals face off against each other again, after playing each other just a couple of nights ago. In that recent game, it was the Colorado Avalanche that got the victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0. Can the Avalanche win again, or will the Blackhawks right their wrongs?
Denis Kirilov
After defeating the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks will face the hardest task two days later. They come up against the Colorado Avalanche who are coming into this fixture on an 8-game winning streak. The top favorite for the Stanley Cup defeated the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, 2-0, as Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen came up clutch scoring the winning goals for their team. The Avalanche tops the NHL with 63 points from 41 matches as they will most certainly be the first team to secure their spot in the Playoffs this year. Their offensive line has made the difference throughout the first half of the campaign and I expect them to keep their consistency at least until the end of the Regular Season.
The Chicago Blackhawks have been struggling to find their rhythm as they are sitting in 14th place with just 39 points from 43 matches. The team will try to fight back, but it might be too little, too late. They lost four straight games before defeating the Red Wings in a high-scoring spectacle on the road, 8-5. The Blackhawks have been mainly suffering in offensive lines as they have only scored 107 goals, compared to 171 goals scored by the Avalanche. I think that the Blackhawks won’t be able to withstand the power of the best team at the moment and I will confidently choose Colorado’s spread here.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+122)
Tony Battalio
The Colorado Avalanche in my opinion are the current favorites to lift the Stanley Cup trophy at the end of the season. They are coming into this game with a record of 30-8-3 through their first 41 games of the season. Their 30 wins on the season gives them the most wins in the National Hockey League this season, they are also tied for most points with the Florida Panthers with 63 points a piece. The Avalanche are currently on an eight game winning streak as well. As they have not lost since January 11th and they haven’t lost in regulation since December 16th. Both of those losses came to the Nashville Predators. Colorado will be looking for a second win in four days over the Chicago Blackhawks in this one.
WE ARE UNWELL#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/iWoDgd9avV
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 27, 2022
The Chicago Blackhawks started out the year as one of the worst teams of the season. They have slowly tried to crawl their way back to even, but time is beginning to run out on the Blackhawks. They come into this game with a record of 16-20-7 through their first 43 games of the season. Chicago is currently on a one game winning streak after picking up a win in their last contest. As for the result of this game however, I don’t expect that winning streak to last long as I have the Colorado Avalanche picking up the victory on the road against the Blackhawks in the Windy City.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-192)
Jeffery Thomas
The Blackhawks snapped a four game losing streak with their 8-5 victory Wednesday over the Detroit Red Wings. The last game of that losing streak was a 0-2 loss to their opponents in this one, the Avs. After that game, interim coach Derek King wanted to put more on a strong net-front presence and they got immediate results, with 4 of their first 5 goals against Detroit coming in that area. Chicago is starting a three game home stand in this one and currently sits at 7th in the Central Division. The Avs will come into this one off an overtime win over Boston where they had to erase a two final deficit in the 3rd period. There was a price to pay though, as they lost star forward Nathan Mackinnon in that game and will be without him in this game Friday.
He is 3rd on the team in points with 43 and second in assists with 34. Colorado is rolling right through January and has already set the franchise record for most wins in a single month, with a record of 13-0-1. They are the hottest team in the league and are in 1st place in the Central. When these two division rivals face off in recent history, it’s been a very enjoyable time for the Avs. They have won 6 of the last 7 matchups and won 5 of those by more than one goal. I expect we will see a lot more of the same when they travel to Chi-town on Friday. A total of 20 of the Avs wins this year have been by more than one goal, meanwhile 5 of the Hawks last 8 losses have been by more than one. I will take Colorado to add on to that and take this one comfortably.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+122)
Boston Bruins @ Arizona Coyotes – 9.00PM ET
Both the Boston Bruins and the Arizona Coyotes are coming into this game on losing streaks. The Bruins are currently on a two game losing streak, after losing to the Ducks and Avalanche. The Coyotes are on a three game losing streak, as they have gone down to the Islanders, Rangers and Penguins.
Denis Kirilov
The Boston Bruins take on the worst team in the NHL as they will pay a visit to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. The Bruins will also try to put an end to their losing streak after suffering two straight defeats to the Colorado Avalanche and the Anaheim Ducks. The team from Massachusetts sits in 8th place with 51 points from 40 games, meaning that they are in a good position to secure a Playoffs spot. The Bruins have a 9-point advantage over the Detroit Red Wings who are their closest pursuer in the Metropolitan Division. I think they won’t have much trouble achieving that.
The Coyotes, on the other hand, are playing just for fun and experience as it’s already too late for them to chase a spot in the Playoffs. The team continues to be dead last in the Western Conference with just 24 points out of 41 matches. On top of that, they have only managed to take the upper hand on 10 occasions, most of which were by a single goal difference. The Coyotes have issues both in their offense and defense and I think they won’t be able to stop the Bruins on Friday night. My pick here goes in favor of the guests as I expect to see yet another display of dominance from their side.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Boston Bruins -1.5 (-134)
Tony Battalio
The Boston Bruins have put together somewhat of a decent season, unfortunately for them they play in one of the toughest divisions in the National Hockey League. Which is why their record of 24-13-3 only has them in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and on the outside looking in for playoff contention. The Bruins are currently on a two game losing streak however, after dropping back to back games against the Anaheim Ducks and league leading Colorado Avalanche. Boston will be looking to break that streak with a win in this one against the weakest team in the league.
The Arizona Coyotes have been a push over for most of the 2021-22 season. They come into this game with only ten wins in 41 total games. They are dead last in the Central Division, and likely staring at a multi year rebuild when this season ends. The Coyotes are currently on a three game losing streak they will be looking to break in this game as well. However, as for the result of this contest I can’t see that happening as I have the Boston Bruins picking up the victory over the Arizona Coyotes on the road, snapping their own losing streak in the process.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Boston Bruins (-365)
Jeffery Thomas
The Bruins almost knocked off the league’s hottest team in their last game, losing to the Avs 3-4 in overtime and will look to get back on track Friday night. That loss was Boston’s second in a row and third in 5 games following an 8-1 stretch. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division with 51 points entering Friday. The Yotes will enter this one on a 3 losing streak themselves after blowing a 3rd period lead and losing 3-6 to Pittsburgh, where they allowed 4 unanswered goals. It’s still been a struggle for Arizona as they are 4-6-2 since play was resumed from the COVID pause. They are entering Friday last in the Central with 24 points.
Both teams are coming off shaky defensive performances and blown 3rd period leads and I think that can carry over into this one. Boston has now given up 21 goals in their last 5 games and Arizona 17 in their last 3. Boston will get back in the win column in this one but there’s no value in betting that. I’m going to bet the total here, as we should get a high scoring game with both defenses struggling. I see this one being somewhere around a 5-3 victory for Boston so the over will cash easily.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Over 6 (-108)
Washington Capitals @ Dallas Stars – 9.00PM ET
The Washington Capitals will play the Dallas Stars on Friday night in the NHL. The Capitals are looking to get back on track after losing their last two games, which was to the Golden Knights and Sharks. The Stars are currently on a four game winning streak, and this lifts their season record up to 22-16-2.
Denis Kirilov
The Dallas Stars return home after a successful journey on the road as they managed to win each one of their four games. The team will host the Washington Capitals at the American Airlines Center as they will try to get back to winning there after losing their last match to the Montreal Canadiens. The Stars have been one of the best home-ice teams in the NHL this year as they have won 14 out of 19 matches in front of their crowd. Despite their elevated performance recently, the team is still out of the Playoffs zone as they are just a couple of points behind the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division.
The Washington Capitals will try to start winning once again after suffering a tough period in January. The team is also safe for the Playoffs, but they will need to make one last effort before relaxing entirely. They have an 18-point lead over the 5th placed Columbus Blue Jackets, who also struggle to reduce the deficit. Alexander Ovechkin and Andrey Kuznetsov have been their top players so far, but John Carlson, Dimitry Orlov, and Nick Jensen have also been playing on a high level in the back. However, I will trust the Dallas Stars’ good form at the moment and I will pick them as the final winner of the match on Friday.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-118)
Tony Battalio
Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals come into this game with a record of 23-12-9 through their first 44 games of the season. Ovechkin himself has 29 goals and 29 assists for a total of 58 points on his quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s all time goal scoring record. They are currently in fourth place of the Metropolitan Division at the moment as they will be looking to get themselves back into a playoff spot. The Capitals are currently on a two game losing streak after losing to the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights as they only managed a record of 1-2-0 on their three game home stand.
Nic’d Up 🎙#ALLCAPS | @Enterprise pic.twitter.com/MOS2IvbeLz
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 28, 2022
The Dallas Stars come into this game with a record of 22-16-2 as they are only four games above the .500 mark at the moment. It has been an up and down season for Stars as they’ve really failed to establish a good amount of momentum as the season has crossed the halfway mark. However Dallas is currently on a four game winning streak so they may be turning things around at the moment, despite the fact that those wins have come against weaker competition. As for the result of this game, I have the Dallas Stars picking up the victory over the Washington Capitals at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-118)
Jeffery Thomas
The Stars will head back home to host the Washington Capitals after a perfect 4-0 road trip. It seemed the shocking 3-5 loss to Montreal was enough to give the Stars a kick as they picked up victories over Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New Jersey following that game. On the other side, we have the Washington Caps who are in a lengthy slump that continued on Wednesday, losing to the Sharks 1-4. They have now been outscored 24-374 in the month of January and after losing to Vegas and San Jose back to back, it marked their first time dropping consecutive games in regulation all season. The power play is an issue at the moment, and plays a big part in their problems as they are 0-16 on the PP in their last 5 games. They will enter this game 5 points out of the Metro Division lead and looking to get things turned around.
As much as the power play for Washington has been a problem, so has the PP for Dallas and that could set up for a great bounce back spot for the Caps. The Stars have given up at least one PP goal in 13 of their past 15 games, so that’s something to watch out for in this one. It’s a massive game for the Caps and I see this as a good spot for them to break out of this slump they’re in. I see positive regression going their way offensively against a Dallas team that is being overvalued due to racking up victories on lesser opponents. I’m picking Washington to pick up a rare January win on the road Friday night.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-102)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
