With 6 games on for today’s action, you are surely set for the start of the new week! Not only that but we have 3 FREE NHL picks for every single game. And we are on fire lately, so you don’t want to miss this…
Find all of our free NHL picks for the scheduled games below.
New York Islanders @ New York Rangers – 7:00 PM ET
New York earned a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Islanders got two goals from Jordan Eberle to help spur the team to victory. The Islanders are now 4-4-2, tied with the Rangers and New Jersey Devils for fifth place in the division.
New York has scored 23 goals while allowing 27. They are 1-4-2 on the road this season. Semyon Varlamov will likely be in net. He has a 2.14 GAA and a .921 save percentage in seven starts. Mathew Barzal leads the team in assists (7) and in points with 11. He is the only Islanders player with at least 10 points so far this season.
Played 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐲 and got the W. pic.twitter.com/dfSn7Va2qI
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 7, 2021
The Rangers are suddenly on a bit of a hot streak, going 3-0-1 in their last four games. That included a 4-2 victory over Washington on Thursday. Ryan Strome had a pair of goals and Artemi Panarin added three assists. The Rangers are 4-4-2, scoring 29 goals while giving up 28.
Igor Shesterkin has taken over as the No. 1 netminder and has a 2.35 GAA and a .913 save percentage in six starts. Panarin is having an outstanding season, leading the Rangers in goals (5), assists (10), and points (15). Like the Islanders, they have just one player who has scored at least 10 points this season.
NHL Pick – New York Rangers (-115)
Spread Pick – New York Rangers -1.5 (+212)
Total Goals Pick – Under 5.5 (-105)
Carolina Hurricanes @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 7:00 PM ET
Carolina defeated Columbus on Sunday in a shootout, 6-5. Six different players scored goals for the Hurricanes, led by Jordan Staal who was a goal and two assists. Carolina is now 7-2-1, tied for second in the Central Division.
They have scored 32 goals while allowing 24. While there is clearly some excitement in winning a game, the Hurricanes have to be very worried about the performance of backup James Reimer.
With starter Petr Mrazek out indefinitely, Reimer is the guy, but he has allowed 10 goals in his last two games. The Hurricanes are getting plenty of scoring, as they have five players with at least eight points. Andrei Svechnikov leads the team in scoring with six goals and 10 points.
With the loss, the Blue Jackets dropped to 5-5-3 on the season, fifth in the division. They have scored 36 goals while allowing 43. The 43 goals allowed are the second most in the division and their -7 goal differential is the second worst.
Elvis Merzlikins has been the better of the two netminders (2.76, .913), but Joonas Korpisalo (3.29, .899) has started three more games. Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the team in points with 11.
NHL Pick – Carolina Hurricanes (-141)
Spread Pick – Columbus Blue Jackets +1.5 (-394)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (-110)
Edmonton Oilers @ Ottawa Senators – 7:00 PM ET
Edmonton loss to Calgary on Saturday, 6-4. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen looked extremely mediocre, stopping just 22 of 28 shots. The loss dropped Edmonton to 6-7-0, fourth in the division.
They have scored 46 goals while allowing 49. The performance by Koskinen has to be of concern, as he has started 12 of the team’s 13 games and now has a 3.55 GAA and a .889 save percentage.
They may need to give him a break, but backup Stuart Skinner did not look good in his debut, giving up five goals on 38 shots. The tandem of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been ridiculous this season. The two have combined for 49 points already.
Cruising to the Capital.
Back-to-back vs. Ottawa starts tomorrow.#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/0tUjIAEo2q
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2021
Ottawa got their best goaltending performance of the season as Matt Murray stopped 30 of 32 shots, but the performance was wasted as the Senators produced just one goal. The loss dropped Ottawa to 2-9-1, last in the division.
They have scored 28 goals while allowing 52 and their -24 goal differential is the worst in the league. Despite the loss, the team has to feel a lot better about the performance of Murray who now has a 4.10 GAA and a .875 save percentage. Ottawa is led in scoring by a trio of players who each have seven points.
NHL Pick – Edmonton Oilers (-200)
Spread Pick – Edmonton Oilers -1.5 (+361)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.5 (-125)
Vancouver Canucks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7:00 PM ET
Vancouver was bounced by Toronto on Saturday, 5-1. That was the fourth straight loss for the Canucks who have seen their goaltending completely collapse. After a stretch of allowing just one goal in four straight games, they have now allowed 23 goals over the last four contests.
Vancouver is 6-9-0 and has scored 49 goals but they have also given up the most at 60. That is eight more than the nearest team. The combination of Thatcher Demko (3.81, .897) and Braden Holtby (3.83, .888) have terrible numbers, but they have been the result of a team that does not play any defense.
These two have been left out on an island and it is shown. The offense has been great as they have five players with at least 10 points this season, led by Quinn Hughes with 15 assists and 16 points. Brock Boeser has nine goals.
Toronto is on a roll. They are 5-0-1 in their last six games, catapulting them to the top of the North Division at 9-2-1. They have scored 45 goals while allowing 33 and are 5-1-0 at home.
Toronto is getting solid goaltending out of Frederik Andersen who has a 2.81 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Mitchell Marner is off to an incredible start with 20 points through his first 12 games. He leads the team with 14 assists. Five players on this team have at least 10 points.
NHL Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs (-200)
Spread Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (-115)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.5 (-115)
Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins – Postponed
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Nashville Predators – 8:00 PM ET
Tampa Bay defeated Detroit on Friday, 3-1 for their fourth straight victory. They have recorded points in five straight games (4-0-1). The Lightning are now first in the Central Division at 7-1-1.
They have scored 32 goals while allowing 18, giving them a +14 differential, the best in the division. Andrei Vasileskiy continues to be a workhorse, starting all nine games for the team with a 1.88 GAA and a .931 save percentage.
Coach Hynes: “If you want to be a winning team then you’ve got to come out from the start of the game, play well, execute the game, and stay with it.” pic.twitter.com/OZMTqfOmOP
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) February 7, 2021
These teams play in back-to-back contests on Monday and Tuesday, so Vasilevskiy may finally get a rest. Three players are tied for the team lead in points with 10 each.
Nashville lost to Florida on Friday, 2-1. They have dropped to seventh in the division at 5-6-0, scoring 29 goals while allowing 36. Pekka Rinne (2.77, .902) is finally looking like the netminder we have come to appreciate over the last five years, but he has only started four games this year.
Juuse Saros had started out red-hot, but he is slumping of late, seeing his goals-against average dropped to 3.31 his save percentage to .893. Nashville has led in scoring by Filip Forsberg with 11 points.
NHL Pick – Tampa Bay Lightning (-149)
Spread Pick – Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (+297)
Total Goals Pick – Under 5.5 (+105)
Arizona Coyotes @ St. Louis Blues – 8:00 PM ET
Arizona got 24 saves from goaltender Darcy Kuemper to help lead them past the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, 3-1. That was the second straight victory for the Coyotes over St. Louis. The teams split 4-3 games on Tuesday and Thursday.
Arizona is now 5-5-1 with 30 goals scored and 30 goals-against. They are sixth in the West Division. With the stellar performance, Kuemper now has a 2.46 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Arizona is led in scoring by Conor Garland who has 12 points.
St. Louis did have a four-game winning streak after defeating Arizona last Tuesday, but they have now dropped two straight. That moves the Blues to 7-4-1, tied for second in the division.
They have scored 40 goals while allowing 39. Both those totals lead the division. Jordan Binnington has been solid in net, starting nine of the teams 12 games with a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Jordan Kyrou leads the team in scoring with 12 points.
NHL Pick – Arizona Coyotes (+130)
Spread Pick – Arizona Coyotes +1.5 (-205)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+105)
The 2021 NHL is well underway now! If you want to catch up with all the latest information, make sure you visit our NHL hub page.
*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of Bet365.
