Due to the postponing of the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Dallas Stars game, there are just 7 games to play tonight, which has given us plenty of time to make 21 cracking NHL picks.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Florida Panthers – 7:00 PM ET
Carolina defeated Florida 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. The win put them 13-6-1 for the season and 3rd place in the Central Division. They have scored 69 goals and conceded 56, for a goal difference of +13.
In the recent meeting between the two sides, Brett Pesce picked up two vital assists to help Carolina win the game, ending their 3 game losing streak in doing so.
Canes over Cats 👊 pic.twitter.com/k3ASwt9qG5
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 28, 2021
Florida now hosts Carolina after their 4-3 overtime loss in Carolina on Saturday. That loss took their record to 13-4-3 for the season, and puts them one place ahead of Carolina in 2nd in the Central Division. Patric Hornqvist scored twice in the final third, including a big equalising goal with 2 minutes to play to keep the Panthers in the game.
NHL Pick – Carolina Hurricanes (-109)
Spread Pick – Florida Panthers +1.5 (-139)
Total Goals Pick – Under 6.0 (-103)
Calgary Flames @ Ottawa Senators – 7:00 PM ET
Calgary defeated Ottawa 6-3 on Saturday. The win puts the Flames 10-10-2 for the season, placing them 5th in the North Division. They have scored 58 goals and conceded 65 this season, for a goal difference of -7.
In their most recent match with Ottawa on Saturday, Calgary won 6-3, scoring three goals in the first two thirds, with Mikael Backlund scoring 1 and assisting 2 more.
Ottawa’s most recent loss further solidified their last place position in the North Division, with a record of 7-15-1. They have scored 61 goals and conceded a league high 91, for a goal difference of -30, also a league high.
The Senators have played better recently though, winning 5 of their previous 10 games, Drake Batherson has been very important in recent games, providing 8 points across their last 5 games.
NHL Pick – Calgary Flames (-125)
Spread Pick – Ottawa Senators +1.5 (-125)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.0 (-107)
Dallas Stars @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Postponed
*This game was postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Vancouver Canucks @ Winnipeg Jets – 8:00 PM ET
Vancouver were kept goalless in their last match, a 3-0 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers. With a record of 8-14-2, the Canucks are in second last place in the Central Division, 3 points above the Senators. They have conceded the second most goals in the league with 85, and are currently on a 4 game losing streak.
Elias Pettersson played well during the Canucks recent run of bad form, providing 3 goals and an assist in his last 3 games, but the teams highest scorer, Brock Boeser, has gone missing recently, providing just 1 assist in their 4 loss run.
Elias Pettersson shows off his skills, burying a no-look backhand between-the-legs goal. 🤩#Canucks Move of the Week | @RemaxWesternCan pic.twitter.com/T1yKn7u07s
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) February 28, 2021
The Jets clinched an overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, winning 2-1 thanks to a goal from Paul Stastny in the first minute of overtime.
The win takes the Jets to a record of 13-6-1, placing them in 3rd in the Central Division with a 4 win streak. Kyle Connor was crucial to the Jets victories against the Canadiens, providing 2 goals in their 6-3 win as well as the winning assist in their 2-1 victory.
NHL Pick – Winnipeg Jets (-113)
Spread Pick – Winnipeg Jets -1.5 (+175)
Total Goals Pick – Under 6.5 (-107)
St. Louis Blues @ Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM ET
St. Louis ended their 3 loss streak on Saturday via a thrilling 7-6 regulation time win against San Jose. The Blues are 11-8-2 in the 2020/21 season, putting them in 3rd place in the West Division, just 1 point behind first place Golden Knights. In their previous two meetings against the Ducks, the Blues won with an aggregate score of 10-2.
On Saturday, the Anaheim Ducks suffered a disappointing overtime loss to division leaders, the Golden Knights. The loss marked the Ducks 6th consecutive defeat, for a record of 6-10-4, putting them in 2nd last place in the West Division. The Ducks have played well in their previous 6 defeats, losing 4 of the games by just 1 goal.
NHL Pick – St. Louis Blues (-119)
Spread Pick – Anaheim Ducks +1.5 (-134)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+110)
Minnesota Wild @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10:00 PM ET
Minnesota defeated the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday 4-3 in overtime. The win puts the Wild 2nd place in the West Division, just 1 point behind the Golden Knights ahead of their clash. Mats Zuccarello has scored 8 points in his last 4 games for the Wild and has been crucial to their string of good form.
The Wild are 7-3-0 from their previous 10 and are currently on a 6 win streak. Tomorrows’ match will be the first of a two match series and is the first time the two teams have played one another this season.
The Golden Knights won in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. With that win, the Golden Knights held their 1st place position in the West Division, with a record of 12-4-1 for the season.
💻 DeBoer on Fleury: He’s consistently been our best player. I thought he was excellent again tonight. pic.twitter.com/Pv0q0Xj6N9
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 28, 2021
Similarly to the Wild, the Golden Knights have a previous 10 game record of 7-3-0, they also boast the best defence in the league with just 36 goals conceded. Marc-Andre Fleury is a big contributor to the Golden Knights defence, with a league high save percentage of .941, Fleury is amongst the best goaltenders in the league.
NHL Pick – Vegas Golden Knights (-117)
Spread Pick – Minnesota Wild +1.5 (-134)
Total Goals Pick – Under 5.5 (-103)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers – 10:00 PM ET
The Maple leafs defeated the Oilers on Saturday in a convincing 4-0 win, which helped them extend their lead at the top of the North Division table, with a record of 16-4-2 for the season.
The Maple Leafs have scored the second most goals in the entire league with 78, in no small part thanks to Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews, who have been immense for the Maple Leafs this season, with 32 and 31 points respectively.
The Edmonton Oilers’ goalless loss to the Maple Leafs ended their 5 win streak, with a record of 14-9-0, the Oilers are in second place in the North Division, 6 points off the top.
They are the only team to score more goals this season than the Maple Leafs, with 79 goals scored so far. The best player in the competition, Connor McDavid, has provided over half of those contributions, with 14 goals and 26 assists in 23 games.
NHL Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs (-107)
Spread Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+210)
Total Goals Pick – Under 6.5 (-103)
Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM ET
Colorado beat the Arizona Coyotes away from home 6-2. The win puts them in 4th place in a very tight West Division, only 2 points from the division leaders. They have a record of 11-6-1, scoring 55 goals and conceding 42 so far.
Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon have been at their best again this season, with Rantanen proving crucial recently, providing 5 points in 3 games. The Avs are 6-3-1 from their last 10, including 2 impressive victories over the Golden Knights.
5 points over the last week isn’t awful 😎#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/nRBGBfeLYj
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 1, 2021
San Jose suffered a disappointing 7-6 regulation time defeat to the Blues most recently, cementing their position at the bottom of the West Division table, with a record of 7-9-2. They have scored 53 goals this season and conceded 71, for a goal difference of -18, amongst the worst in the league.
NHL Pick – Colorado Avalanche (-132)
Spread Pick – San Jose Sharks +1.5 (-119)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.0 (-111)
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.
