Despite COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the NHL schedule, we are still lucky to have one game on today that isn’t postponed. 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 one game on today’s schedule.
Edmonton Oilers @ New York Rangers – 7.00PM ET
The Edmonton Oilers are on the road on Monday night when they travel to New York to take on the Rangers. The Oilers have lost all three of their games since the NHL returned from the Christmas / COVID-19 break, with losses to the Blues, Devils and Islanders. The Rangers are playing on back-to-back nights, and last night they got a great win over the Lightning, 4-0, which means they are currently on a two game winning streak.
Denis Kirilov
The Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers will go head-to-head on Monday night in a game that promises to be electrifying and mesmerizing. The Rangers are coming into this game following two wins over the reigning champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are 5th in the Eastern Conference and are a point away from the top spot, occupied by the Carolina Hurricanes. The team has been slightly hit by the COVID-19 outbreak as they will be without Ryan Lindgren and Kevin Rooney. The Rangers have a decent chance at reaching 1st place on Monday, but they will need to find a way to stop Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
Nice little run for Yamo. He’s our Gatorade Performer of the Week. #FuelledByG | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/wDyaUndLmd
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 2, 2022
The Oilers, on the other hand, have been one of the most promising teams before Christmas. Now, they are on a 2-9 run as the only victories they have managed to achieve were over the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Seattle Kraken. The team’s form declined after a couple of losses against some of the top teams in the NHL including the Carolina Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Minnesota Wild. Draisaitl and McDavid kept on scoring goals and putting up points for the individual leaderboard. However, the rest of the team seemed to have underperformed. I think that this awful streak will end soon, but I don’t think it will be against the Rangers who are playing really well at the moment. My preferences go in favor of the hosts in this exciting match.
Denis’ NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+104)
Tony Battalio
The Edmonton Oilers are coming into this game with a record of 18-12-2 on the season, they have lost their last two games in overtime. Overall they have lost their three games as they have hit a cold streak when the season has resumed. Despite the recent skid of losing games, they are still one to the best teams in the National Hockey League. As long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisitl are on the ice the Edmonton Oilers are still a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference. However if they want to remain in the contender tier, they will need to get things turned around quickly. Edmonton currently finds themselves in fourth place in the Pacific Division.
The New York Rangers are coming into this game with a record of 21-8-4 on the season. They are only two points back from the lead in a very competitive Metropolitan Division that includes other contenders like the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers have defeated the two time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last two games by a combined score of 8-3, even shutting them out in the second contest. They will be looking for a third straight victory in this one. However as the result of this game I don’t see that happening, as I have the Edmonton Oilers picking up the victory in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-125)
Michael Lantz
Is it time to panic in Edmonton? The Oilers have lost three straight games, including their last two against far inferior teams in the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. Despite having some of the league’s top talent in Leon Draisaitl and Conor McDavid, they’re barely hanging on to a playoff spot. Things won’t get any easier for them on Monday as they face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 2, 2022
After a close loss to the Florida Panthers, the New York Rangers made proper adjustments and won consecutive games against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, after an impressive 4-0 shutout win, they’ll hope to apply the same defensive pressure against the Oilers and their all-star forwards. I expect Edmonton to come out playing tough—there’s little excuse for them to drop those last two games and they’ll want to prove they’re worthy of the playoffs by beating one of the league’s top teams. Still, it might be too hard for me to pick against this Rangers team, while they play at home.
Michael’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+104)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
