Free NHL Picks Today for Saturday, December 2nd, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Saturday, December 2nd 2023! Make sure you check our NHL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NHL picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a solid start to the regular season for the Boston Bruins throughout the early part of the year. However, they have struggled as of late and they will be looking to get things going in the right direction once again here on Saturday night north of the border in Canada. Boston will be looking for a solid victory here on Saturday night on the road in Toronto as they look to further establish themselves as a Stanley Cup title contender this season. They were the favorites heading into the postseason last year before they were upset in the first round by the Florida Panthers. They will be looking to avoid the same mistake this time around as they look for an equally as historic regular season in this campaign as well. Boston comes into this game with 15 victories to their name through their first 22 games of the season. They will be looking to grab their 16 victory of the season here on Saturday night in Toronto as they look for a crucial momentum boosting victory here in this one. 

It has been a solid start to the regular season for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they come into this game with 12 victories through their first 22 games of the regular season. They will be looking to grab their 13th one of the year here on Saturday night at home against the Boston Bruins. It would be a huge early season statement victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs if they could get the job done here in this one against the Boston Bruins, as Toronto looks to establish themselves as a legitimate contender throughout the early part of the regular season. Toronto will need to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up an average of three goals per game and that is not something that is sustainable for success throughout the regular season. They do have some momentum coming into this game as they have picked up four victories, and their last five games on the year and they are currently on a two game winning streak as well. I expect them to grab a third consecutive victory here on Saturday night at home against Boston.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

Philadelphia Flyers are having a decent season up until this point they will be looking to grab a victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins here on Saturday night on the road in Pittsburgh. As they travel across the state to play their rivals and look to come away with a huge momentum boosting victory here in this one, they look to gain as much momentum as possible heading into the final month of the year. Philadelphia is coming into this game hovering just below the .500 mark as they come into this one with eleven victories through their first 23 games of the regular season. A victory in this game for Philadelphia would not only give them bragging rights, but it would also put them back at the .500 mark heading into the rest of December as they look to establish themselves as a potential playoff team this season. Philadelphia has been in a bit of a slump as of late as they have dropped two consecutive games and lost four out of their last five in the process. They will be looking to snap their losing streak with a victory here in this one on Saturday night.

It has been a similar start of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins and they will be looking for a huge momentum boosting victory to get things going in the right direction heading into December. Pittsburgh is at the end of an ageing dynasty and they enjoyed their run when they were in their prime but now it is time for a rebuild in Pittsburgh. Throughout the near future. All that awaits to be seen with this Pittsburgh team is if it’ll be a full rebuild or a potential rebuild where they attempt to compete as well as retool the roster throughout the year. Pittsburgh comes into this game exactly at the .500 mark through their first 22 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 12th victory of the year here in this one. Pittsburgh has a little bit of momentum coming into this game after picking up a victory on the road in Tampa Bay in their previous contest. Now I look for them to grab their second consecutive victory here on Saturday night at home against Philadelphia. 

Buffalo Sabres @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been an average start to the regular season for the Buffalo Sabres and they will be looking to get a huge momentum boosting victory here on Saturday night in Carolina. Buffalo comes into this game slightly below .500 through their first 23 games of the regular season, and they will be looking to make the climb back towards 500 with a victory here on Saturday night on the road against the Hurricanes. They come into this game with 10 victories through their first 23 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 11th victory of the year here in this one. They will need to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up over three goals per game throughout the early part of the regular season and that is not sustainable for success in the Atlantic division. They have given up more than six goals twice in their previous three games and that is something that will have to change rather quickly if they want to get a victory here in Carolina on Saturday night. 

Carolina is having a quality start to the regular season and they will be looking to maintain that success with a victory here on Saturday night at home against Buffalo. They have been a legitimate contender over the last several seasons, but they have yet to break through the glass ceiling and have an opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup title. As long as they remain healthy and consistent throughout the regular season, they should have a solid shot at making a deep run into the postseason this year with the way they have played throughout the early part of the season. Carolina comes into this game with 13 victories through their first 22 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 14th one of the year here on Saturday night against the Sabres. However, they need to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice as they are giving up over three goals per game and they will not find success if that continues throughout the season. Although I do expect them to pick up the victory in this game on Saturday at home.

Vancouver Canucks @ Calgary Flames – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a solid start to the regular season for the Vancouver Canucks and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling in this game on Saturday night against the Calgary Flames. Vancouver had a steady rebuilding process that is finally paying off for them this season, and they will be looking to continue reaping the benefits of that process with another victory here in this game. Vancouver comes into this game with 15 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 16th win of the year here in Calgary on Saturday. A victory in this game would also help them gain ground on the Vegas Golden Knights, as they look to overtake them for the first spot in the Pacific division, heading into the final month of the calendar year. They are coming off of a loss to Vegas and their previous game and they will be looking to bounce back and pick up a much-needed victory here on Saturday night against Calgary to get things rolling in the right direction once again.

The Calgary Flames had a rough start to the season, but they have been building up plenty of momentum over the last couple of weeks and they will be looking to grab a solid victory here on Saturday night at home. Calgary comes into this game just below .500 with 10 victories through their first 23 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 11th victory of the year here on Saturday. They have been a contender over the last several seasons, and the way they started this season it looked like their run as a contender was over, but they have picked it up as of late they are starting to climb their way back up the standings. These two teams met a couple weeks ago and it was Calgary that came out on top at home by three goals and they will be looking to replicate that performance here on Saturday night against Vancouver. Calgary has some momentum coming into this game after back-to-back overtime wins and I look for them to pick up a third consecutive victory here on Saturday night as well.

Washington Capitals @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

Washington comes into this game looking to get a huge momentum boosting victory on the road in Vegas against the defending Stanley Cup champions here on Saturday night. It has been a fantastic start to the season for Washington as they come into this game with 12 victories through their first 20 games of the regular season. They will be looking to maintain that momentum with their quality performance here in Las Vegas. They look to pick up their 13th victory of the season here on the road on Saturday night and kick off the month of December on a positive note with a victory against the defending champions. They are having success throughout the early part of the year, but they need to improve on the offensive end of the ice as they are averaging only two goals per game this season. As a two goals per game average will not lead to long-term success for Washington this season. However, they do come into this game with plenty of momentum after winning four out of their last five on the year and two in a row.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are off to a fantastic start to the regular season, and they will be looking to maintain that start with another quality victory here on Saturday. Vegas comes into this game with 15 victories to their name through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 16th win at home here on Saturday night against Washington. They have not experienced any type of championship hangover throughout the early part of the year, and they have been very hard to beat at home throughout the early part of this season as well. They will be looking to defend home ice once again here on Saturday night against Washington, as they like to keep the momentum rolling early on in the season. Vegas comes into this game with a lot of momentum. After picking up a three goal victory over the Vancouver Canucks and their previous game, I look for them to grab a second consecutive victory here on Saturday night at home as well.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.