We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move towards the mid way point in the season, each division’s ladder is starting to take shape. 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!
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Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the two games on today’s schedule.
Calgary Flames @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7.00PM ET
The Calgary Flames wrap up their two game road trip on Friday when they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes, who kick off their own two game homestand. The Flames are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they played the Lightning and lost, 1-4. The Hurricanes are looking to build on their four game winning streak with another win tonight, currently their season record stands at 23-7-1.
Denis Kirilov
The Carolina Hurricanes take on the Calgary Flames in one of the most anticipating matches in the NHL this season. The hosts are coming into this fixture on a 4-game winning streak after wins over the Red Wings, the Kings, the Canadiens, and the Blue Jackets. Even though they have been performing great recently, they are still 5th in the East with 47 points from 31 matches. The team has simply the best defense in the NHL and this represents their main strength. The Hurricanes have conceded a total of 66 goals, 4 of which came from Columbus in their last game.
The Calgary Flames, is the second-best team when it comes to defensive statistics. They have conceded 77 goals for 32 games which puts them way ahead of the rest in the League. Their approach has been quite conservative throughout the first part of the season as most of the games have gone to the wire and have been decided by a single goal. I think that the current circumstances benefit the Hurricanes more and, in my opinion, they will be the one cheering in the end. So, I would suggest going for a home win here as I suspect Carolina will be able to get their 5th win in PNC Arena.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-200)
Tony Battalio
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming into this game with a record of 23-7-1. As they are perhaps the best team in the entire National Hockey League at the moment. They are perhaps the lead contender in a league full of them to win the Stanley Cup this season and dethrone the two time champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. They come into this game on a four game winning streak as well, and have picked up victories in eight of their last nine games. They will be looking to extend both those streaks with a win over a tough Calgary Flames team in this one at home.
.@BParkerTV recaps the loss to the Lightning in Game Over, presented by @McDonaldsCanada. pic.twitter.com/DZAvFpc98k
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 7, 2022
The previously mentioned Calgary Flames come into this game with a great record thus far this season. This game against the Carolina Hurricanes will be the second game of a back to back for the Flames as well. In the first leg of the back to back they had a game with the Tampa Bay Lightning that went down to the wire until the Lightning opened it up in third. Now they will be looking to bounce back in this one against the Hurricanes. However as for the result of this game, I have the Calgary Flames losing again as I have the Hurricanes picking up the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-200)
Michael Lantz
After getting swatted by the Florida Panthers on Tuesday 2-6, the Calgary Flames road trip continued to lack sunshine as they fell 1-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night. For a team that’s been one of the NHL’s best on defense this year, Calgary are starting to show some major holes recently. They’ll need to get it figured out if they want to make a successful postseason run.
The Flames schedule doesn’t get any easier as they face the best defensive team in hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes. The ‘Canes are on a four-game win streak, and are just one point behind the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The last time these two teams faced off, the Hurricanes won a gritty battle 2-1 in overtime. Calgary will hope their road trip to the Southeast doesn’t go to waste, and that their defense can find the same flavor it had up until recently. Still, they haven’t shown enough over the past week to convince me they can pull off a win against a team as good as the Hurricanes. I’ll go with the safe bet, which is for the ‘Canes to win outright.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-200)
Washington Capitals @ St. Louis Blues – 8.00PM ET
The Washington Capitals are in the middle of a three game road trip when they take on the St. Louis Blues in the final game on Friday night. The Capitals haven’t played since January 2, as they have had one of their games postponed, in their last game, they were outplayed by the Devils, 3-4, in overtime. The Blues were also outplayed in their last game, losing to the Penguins, 3-5, which takes their season record to 19-10-5.
Denis Kirilov
The Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues will take on each other in the last game in the NHL for Friday night. Both rosters have been playing very well in the first half of the season as both of them occupy the top spots in their respective Conference. The Capitals depend much on Alexander Ovechkin who managed to lead his team at 36 years of age. He puts up remarkable numbers in one of his last seasons in the NHL as he is 3 points shy of the first place occupied by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the individual leaderboard. He has scored 24 goals and has given 26 assists in 34 games, making him the only player above 31 years old to be in the top 25. Overall, the Capitals are in a considerably relaxing position as the Flyers who are 5th in the Metropolitan Division are 16 points behind them in the standings.
The St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, share the same record as Washington in the last 5 games. They have actually copy-pasted each single outcome as both teams will try to avoid going into a losing streak after the game. The Blues find themselves in a tighter spot as although they are 3rd in the West, their Playoffs spot is far from being secured. This is mainly due to the increased competition in their Conference as the gaps in the top 12 are really slim. The team has one of the best attacks in the League that frequently comes to the rescue in the most vital moments of the game. The Blues are really a different team at home as they have won 9 out of their last 10 games played in Enterprise Center. I think that this amazing run will go on as they will cruise past the Capitals in a match that promises to be not only electrifying, but also full of goals.
Denis’ NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues (-115)
Denis’ Bonus NHL Pick: Over 6 (-122)
Tony Battalio
The Washington Capitals will be playing the middle game of their three game road trip in this one. Washington comes into this game with one of the league’s best records at 20-6-8 on the season. As of right now they are one of the many potential favorites to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in a loaded Eastern Conference. In their last game they fell to the New Jersey Devils in overtime by a score of 3-4. This game will be the first game of a back to back for the Capitals. On Saturday evening they will travel to Minnesota to wrap up their road trip and play the Minnesota Wild in what should be another highly competitive and entertaining game.
🤘🤘🤘#ALLCAPS | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/cbrdPuv7Yt
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 6, 2022
The St. Louis Blues have hit a bit of a rough patch recently. As they have lost two of their last four games, now while that doesn’t sound bad on the surface, one of those losses came to Winnipeg. The Blues are coming into this game with a record of 19-10-5 through their first 34 games this season. As the season approaches the halfway point, the St. Louis Blues have managed to stay within the top 3 of the Central Division the entire year. They have put themselves in a great position to make a playoff run. However, as for the result of this, I don’t think they will pick up the win as I have the Washington Capitals getting the win on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-104)
Michael Lantz
This showdown between two second-place teams that are breathing down the necks of their division leaders, should be a thrill to watch on Friday night. The Washington Capitals come to St. Louis to take on the Blues, and while Washington hasn’t had many consistent win streaks lately, they also don’t make losing a habit. Last week they had consecutive wins against the Central Division leading Nashville Predators and the upstart Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately, they followed those two games with a loss to the inferior New Jersey Devils. They’ll hope to bounce back to their winning ways against another playoff-worthy opponent in the St. Louis Blues.
St. Louis had a nice start after the league paused for COVID, they beat the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild, thanks in large part to the play of forward Jordan Kyrou. On Wednesday Kyrou kept the goals coming, but the Blues win streak hit a halt. They lost 3-5 to a Pittsburgh Penguins team that’s the hottest in the NHL. Both of these teams have scored 117 goals on the season, averaging 3.44 per game; both these stats have them ranked in the top five in the NHL. Washington is a tad better on defense, but the big difference could come in power play, as the Blues have a top five team and the Capitals have a bottom five team. Still, I’m going to go with the surprise pick here and go with the Capitals. They don’t make losing a pattern and have been an impressive 10-3-3 on the road this year.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-104)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
