After a measly 4 game Sunday everybody is chasing more, and luckily Monday night has got you covered with 10 epic games on. We’ve been hard at it researching each fixture in depth to bring you the best NHL picks.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 7.00 PM EDT
The Hurricanes and Blue Jackets meet in Ohio today for the third match of their 4 game series, the Canes will be looking to get some revenge after they were embarrassed over the first two games held in Carolina.
The Blue Jackets weren’t given much of a chance against the in form Canes, however, they secured a 3-2 win in overtime on Thursday, followed by a shootout victory on Saturday to win 3-2 again.
It didn’t come easy for the Blue Jackets, who came back twice throughout the game to force the overtime, and appeared to have lost it in the shootout when they missed their first two shots, Patrick Laine and Oliver Bjorkstrand delivered with the final shots though, winning the shootout 2-1.
Bjorkstrand’s winning goal capped off an epic road trip, assisting in all 3 goals in the first match, before scoring in regulation time and the shootout on Saturday.
What a game. What a win 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9wlt1THVqh
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 21, 2021
Despite losing the last 3 games straight the Hurricanes still have the best record over the last 10 games, they find themselves 3rd place in the Central Division, just 1 point off the Panthers in 2nd.
Saturday’s defeat was the first time they have lost in a shootout this season, it came as quite a surprise as the Canes were 4-0 from shootouts compared to the Blue Jackets 1-3.
They have two games to redeem themselves in Ohio, and having won 4 of their last 5 games on the road they are a good chance to do so.
NHL Pick – Carolina Hurricanes (-156)
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Edmonton Oilers @ Montreal Canadiens – 7.00 PM EDT
The Oilers picked up a third straight victory following their clean sweep over the Jets at home in Edmonton, they will now hit the road for the next 5, starting with 3 games against the Canadiens.
The two sides have met on 3 occasions this season, the Oilers initially lost to them twice at home, but most recently beat them 3-0 in Montreal.
Based on form you have to like the Oilers heading into this series, showing great resilience they defeated the Jets 4-2 on Saturday, scoring 4 unanswered goals after going down 2-0 in the first term.
It was another typical performance from McDavid who scored the Oilers first, before assisting Draisaitl for an all too familiar goal to give them the lead.
The Canadiens also enjoyed a hard fought victory as they beat the Canucks in a shootout to decide the winner of their 4-4 regulation game, preventing a third straight loss in the process.
It was the 9th game between the two teams this season, with the Canadiens picking up their 6th win and getting the result they deserved, having outshot them by more than 2 to 1.
It was heart in mouth stuff for the Canadiens fans when they saw the game go to overtime, they were yet to win a game past regulation time this season from 9 attempts, 0-6 in OT and 0-3 from shootouts, the worst in the league.
NHL Pick – Edmonton Oilers (+110)
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Buffalo Sabres @ New York Rangers – 7.00 PM EDT
Following the firing of head coach Ralph Kreuger, this will be the Sabres first match under the new coaching staff’s freshly implemented strategies.
If there was ever a time to get a win it is today, just 1 loss away from equalling their all time losing streak of 14, a win today would make a big statement for the Sabres going forward.
They head into this match after a demoralising 4-1 defeat to the Bruins, the win was handed to the Bruins on a platter by the Sabres, who gave up 10 penalty minutes and conceded 2 powerplay goals.
The Sabres have played the Rangers on 3 occasions this season, and they will like their chances, from 3 games this year the Sabres have won 1, sent another to overtime, and lost the other by a goal.
Our game against the Rangers on Monday will offer the first true glance at tweaks made under the interim coaching staff.@duffersabres has the scoop. #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/7W8mTtj6lN
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) March 21, 2021
The Rangers head into this game following an impressive away victory over the 1st place Capitals in Washington.
The match was the second of a 2 game series and keeps with the Rangers tradition of winning just 1 game of a series, from 10, 2 game series this season, the Rangers have won 1/2 games 7 times, swept once, and been swept just twice.
Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad both picked up a goal and assist on Saturday, bringing their totals to 8 and 10 over the last 5 games respectively.
NHL Pick – New York Rangers (-222)
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Calgary Flames @ Ottawa Senators – 7.00 PM EDT
The North Division’s 6th and 7th ranked teams meet in Ottawa for a 2 match series, and if the past is anything to go by it should be a high scoring affair.
The two have played 5 times this season, with the winner alternating each time, their last meeting was won by the Senators via a shootout.
The Flames enter this game following a shutout defeat to the Maple Leafs on Saturday after beating them the day before.
The Flames played well and kept pace with their opposition, making 31 shots to the Leafs 33, the Leafs were advantaged by playing at home in the back to back situation, eventually winning 2-0.
With 5 wins from their last 10 games, the Flames have improved month after month since the start of the year and are on track to keep doing so in March, they face some tough fixtures after the Senators though so it is crucial they pick up some points here.
The Senators were swept over 2 games against the Canucks in their hometown, however they picked up 2 much needed points by sending both matches to overtime.
They lost the most recent game in a shootout after mounting a comeback from 2-0 down in regulation time, Josh Norris scored the equalising goal to give him his 2nd from the last 2 games.
NHL Pick – Calgary Flames (-166)
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New York Islanders @ Philadelphia Flyers – 7.00 PM EDT
The Islanders and Flyers play the final game of their 3 match series today, after playing the previous 2 in New York this game will be held in Philadelphia.
The Islanders got their first win against the Flyers on Saturday from 4 games this season, it came in the form of a dominant performance, with the Islanders winning 6-1.
They came out swinging with 4 goals in the first term and never looked like losing from there, Ilya Sorkin didn’t have much to do in net but was still there to make 23 saves.
There were multiple 2 point scorers for the Islanders, but Casey Cizikas was the only player to net double goals, earning his first brace of the campaign.
Happy Sunday, #Isles Fam! pic.twitter.com/RCVn2kYCwZ
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 21, 2021
The Flyers picked up another disappointing defeat in what has been an average month for the Philadelphia based team, with just 4 wins over the last 10 games, only 2 teams have performed worse in the division.
After letting in 6 against the Islanders last time out, the Flyers defensive problems have never been more evident, they have conceded 51 goals over the last 11 games, and have not conceded less than 3 in any of those 11.
They have remained competitive with the 4 teams above them this season, and are still strong offensively, but they are let down by their defenseman, and by Carter Hart in net, who has just a .875 save rate from 20 starts.
NHL Pick – New York Islanders (-125)
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Anaheim Ducks @ Minnesota Wild – 7.30 PM EDT
Having won just 1 game from their last 6, the Mighty Ducks will not be looking forward to their road trip to Minnesota to face the Wild.
The Ducks wrapped up a 2 game home series with the Coyotes on Saturday, after winning the first game they went on to lose 6-1 in the second.
They registered the same amount of shots as the Coyotes (28), but it didn’t happen for them, with Ryan Miller letting in more goals in his first term than he did for the entirety of the previous game.
Adam Henrique picked up another goal, and while it didn’t mean much to the outcome of the game, it extended his goal scoring streak to 3 games, with 5 total points over the 3.
The Wild head into this match hungry for a result after being embarrassed by the Avs over 2 games in Colorado, losing 11-1 on aggregate.
It was the Wild’s worst series performance this year, they went into it on a 5 win streak but were outclassed by the experienced Avalanche side who outshot them 97-55 over the two games.
They have struggled against the Avs this season though with just 1 win from 5 games, they will be glad to head back to Minnesota where they are currently 10-3-0.
NHL Pick – Minnesota Wild (-222)
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Colorado Avalanche @ Arizona Coyotes – 10.00 PM EDT
The struggling Coyotes come up against the molten hot Avalanche today for what will be the 5th game between the two this season.
The Coyotes finally put an end to their losing streak with a 5-1 win against the Ducks on Saturday, and with it they wrapped up a forgettable road trip on a positive note.
It was a clinical performance from the Coyotes, who finished the game even on shots with the Ducks, but had 4 more goals. An unlikely Derick Brassard was responsible for 3 of them, just the 2nd career hat trick for the 33 year old veteran.
Anti Raanti gave a solid performance in the net, stopping 27 of 28 shots in place of the usual Darcy Kuemper, who remains out with a lower body injury.
The Avs made it 6 in a row with a 2 game clean sweep against the helpless Minnesota Wild, it was the final match of a huge 9 game homestand for the Avs, of which they won all but 2.
The people have spoken.
With a shutout and 3 wins in 3 games, Grubi is our player of the week!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/VrGPoiKJxF— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 22, 2021
They scored 36 goals over the 9 games, picking up 2 shutouts also, they will now test their ability with 2 away games before heading back to Colorado for another 6.
Their most recent win over the Wild was a dominant 6-0 shutout, and came just two days after another dominant 5-1 performance which saw the Avs outshoot their opponent 55-20.
Phillip Grubauer added another shutout to his tally, he leads the league with 5, and boasts an elite 92.9 save percentage from 24 starts this season.
Nathan MacKinnon picked up 3 points for the second straight game, extending his point streak to 5 games alongside Mikko Rantanen who scored a goal.
NHL Pick – Colorado Avalanche (-222)
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Winnipeg Jets @ Vancouver Canucks – 10.00 PM EDT
The Jets were defeated by the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday, the 4-2 loss was their second loss to the Oilers in 3 days.
The Jets took the lead early when Pierre-Luc Dubois set up Andrew Copp for a powerplay goal before scoring a goal of his own 5 minutes later.
They held a 2-1 lead for the majority of the game but the pressure of the Oilers got too much for them in the third, conceding 3 goals.
The Jets blessed the Oilers with 16 penalty minutes, a quite rare occurrence for the team with the league’s 4th least penalty minutes per game, however, the Oilers didn’t score with a single powerplay.
The Canucks sit in 5th place of the highly competitive North Division table, but they go into this match with the best record over the last 10 games in the division (7-2-1).
They had their 4 win streak halted by the Canadiens on Saturday, and were just a shootout away from a flawless 4 game road trip.
The defeat was mostly deserved for the Canucks, making just 18 shots for the game to the Canadiens 40, it was their 6th defeat to the Montreal team from 9 games this season.
They have played the Jets 5 times this season, of those 5 the Canucks have won 2, a win here would bring them just 1 point off the Jets, however, the Canucks have 4 more games.
NHL Pick – Vancouver Canucks (+100)
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St Louis Blues @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10.00 PM EDT
The Blues head to Vegas to face the Knights and they do so in considerably better form than the last time they met in St Louis.
After a clean sweep over the Sharks in San Jose, the Blues will have some semblance of confidence in them again, they went into the series on a season high 5 loss streak.
The first game came down to a shootout, but they won the second game by a solid 5-2 while taking 10 less shots. David Perron broke his 3 game point drought with an emphatic 4 point performance, his most in a single game all season.
Perron must have been inspired by Ryan O’Reilly, the skipper also broke his point drought with a 4 point game, also a season best for him.
Our captain’s leading the way. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/iEqSPSb8pg
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 21, 2021
While the Blues put an end to their losing ways, the Golden Knights did the opposite, losing surprisingly to the L.A Kings away from home 3-1.
The Knights went down early with a lapse in concentration, conceding 2 goals within the space of a minute, and from that point they were constantly chasing.
With 42 shots on target, the Kings goalie, Calvin Petersen, won’t be the most popular man in Vegas, it was just the 2nd time this season the Knights have only scored a single goal in a losing game.
They head back to Vegas now, and having beaten the Blues in back to back games away from home recently, you have to like their chances here.
NHL Pick – Vegas Golden Knights (-156)
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Los Angeles Kings @ San Jose Sharks – 10.30 PM EDT
The Kings got a big win over the Golden Knights yesterday in their hometown, their first over the Knights for the season.
They now travel to San Jose to face the Sharks, the two have surprisingly only played 2 games this season, winning 1 game each.
Anze Kopitar was immense for the Kings yesterday, providing 2 assists to guide the Kings to a well needed victory, bringing his season point total to 37.
The team will be tested today, having to play in back to back games after their hard fought win yesterday, working against the Kings is the fact they haven’t won consecutive games since late February.
The Sharks are playing far from their best though, with just 3 wins from the last 10 games, and have lost the last 4 games on the trot.
Their most recent defeats came against the Blues at home, where they have been characteristically poor, with just 3 wins from 11 home games the Sharks are amongst the league’s worst home performers.
Whilst they have lost 4 in a row the Sharks performance is slightly underrepresented as they did have some tough competition, keeping the Knights to just 1 goal in back to back games.
NHL Pick – San Jose Sharks (-125)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of Bet365.
