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!
Here at SportsTips, we are just as keen on the NHL as you are! We spend each and every day going through the best games and previewing them for you. Our experts offer up their free NHL picks, which means that you not only get enjoyment out of watching some intriguing games, but also make extra cash while doing so!
Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the best five games on today’s schedule.
St. Louis Blues @ Florida Panthers – 1.00PM ET
The St. Louis Blues and the Florida Panthers face off against each other in back-to-back games, and Saturday afternoon’s game is the first. The Blues are coming off a tough 2-4 loss to the Lightning, which brings their season record to 12-8-3. The Panthers have started off the new month on the right foot, winning against the Sabres, 7-4, and moving their season record up to 16-4-3.
Denis Kirilov
The St. Louis Blues travel to Florida to face off the Panthers in one of the most interesting matchups on Saturday in the NHL. The hosts will try to defend their 1st place in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are the highest scoring team in the NHL so far with 89 goals from 23 matches. However, Florida showed some inconsistency lately as they consecutively lost to the Capitals and to the Kraken. They managed to make up for these bad games with victories over Washington and Buffalo which let them keep their top place ahead of Toronto and Carolina.
The St. Louis Blues were off to a fantastic start this season, but they weren’t able to keep their cool throughout November and dropped down to 6th place in the Western Conference. In their most recent games, the team had to play two really intense matches against the reigning champions from Tampa. In the first meeting, the Blues showed high class, erasing a 3-goal deficit and winning the game after penalties. In the rematch, Tampa got revenge, 2-4 as the Blues crumbled under the pressure in the 3rd period, conceding three goals. In my opinion, these narrow matches will take their toll on St. Louis who have an even tougher opponent to face. My preferences go towards the Panthers in this one.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-182)
Tony Battalio
This is the first of two straight games between these two teams. Both St. Louis and Florida looked to be contenders for the Stanley Cup this season. That was the case early on in the season as both teams got off to great starts. However as of late the St. Louis Blues have hit some bumps in the road and are trending in the wrong direction. The same can be said for the Panthers, however their start to the season allowed for a lot more breathing room than St. Louis has had.
Never count us out 📸#BUFvsFLA | #TimeToHunt
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 3, 2021
This game against the Panthers will be the second and final game of a quick two game road trip for St. Louis. In their first game on the trip they dropped a game to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 2-4. It was their second straight game over Tampa Bay as they won the first one in a shootout, during the last couple of days of November. Their overall record on the season is 12-8-3 as a disastrous month of November has put them in danger of falling below the .500 mark. In the month of November, they played 15 games and posted a total record of 6-6-3. As for the Florida Panthers, they come into this game with a record of 16-4-3. They have been one of the hotter teams in the NHL this year and I expect that to continue with a win over the Blues in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-182)
Michael Lantz
After a surprising 1-4 home loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Florida Panthers have unleashed an offensive fury, beating the Washington Capitals 5-4 and then the Buffalo Sabres 7-4. In those games, the team’s leading scorer Johnathan Huberdeau continued to rack up the points, giving him 28 on the season. Even with Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclar sidelined with injury, the Panthers have found other ways to score. They’ve gotten some assistance from the likes of blueliner Aaron Ekblad, who with 21 points, is making his case for a potential Norris Trophy win. Now, on Saturday night, they’ll play the first of their consecutive games against the St. Louis Blues.
St. Louis’ season has been full of ups and downs, they started out 6-1-0, and while they still have a reasonable 12-8-3 record, they lost games to inferior opponents including the Coyotes and Blackhawks. Then after two big wins against the Blue Jackets and Lightning, the Blues looked like they were capable of going on another run, but they lost their second matchup against the Lightning 2-4. For St. Louis, their biggest threat to the Panthers comes with their power play, which is the second best in the NHL. If they can get those opportunities, that’ll be their best bet to compete as the Panthers are just okay at preventing power play goals. That being said, Florida is dominant at home with a 13-1-0 record. If this one was in St. Louis I’d go with an upset Blues pick, but recently they’ve struggled on the road. So, I think Florida’s home ice advantage will lead them to victory on Saturday night.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-182)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Minnesota Wild – 7.00PM ET
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a quick two game road trip and the first stop is in Minnesota when they take on the Wild. The Maple Leafs have to be extremely happy when their performance last time out, where they smashed one of the Stanley Cup favorites, the Avalanche, 8-3. The Wild also kicked off their December with a win, 5-2, against the Devils, which brings their season record to 16-6-1.
Denis Kirilov
Both Toronto and Minnesota are looking fantastic in this early stage of the 2021/22 NHL campaign. The hosts lead the West with 33 points, while the Maple Leafs are second in the East with 35 points. Both teams are on 5-game winning streaks, defeating some of the best teams in the NHL. Minnesota cruised past the Winnipeg Jets and the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Toronto had fun against the San Jose Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Colorado Avalanche. It’s quite hard to make some distinction between these two rosters as they both are amazing in offensive positions and simply brilliant when it comes to defensive plays.
However, it seems that Toronto has the upper hand at the moment as the team managed to demolish stronger teams. They were also forced to play these games on the road, while Minnesota had the opportunity to face off Tampa and Winnipeg in their Xcel Energy Center. Although the Wild have been fantastic in front of their home crowd so far, I think that Toronto won’t go home empty-handed from this match. In my opinion, the Maple Leafs are just a slight favorite to be victorious in the end.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-122)
Tony Battalio
The Maple Leafs kick off their short and sweet two game road trip with a stop in Minnesota on Saturday evening to play the Wild. Toronto comes into this game with a record of 17-6-1 on the season as they are quickly establishing themselves as a playoff team who could make some noise in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Toronto is currently on a five game winning streak and have won ten of their last eleven games dating back to early November.
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 16-6-1 on the season. As both of these teams are currently first place in their respective divisions. Minnesota enters this one with a five game winning streak and have picked up victories in six of their last eight games this season. This one has all the potential to be the game of the evening and when the final horn sounds I have the Maple Leafs coming out on top with a big road victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-122)
Michael Lantz
This one should be a lot of fun as these two division leaders (Toronto is technically tied in first at the time of writing), go at it in a Saturday battle. Minnesota is currently fourth in the NHL in goals per game, and are second in total assists. Their outstanding offense has been led by last season’s Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov, who has 28 points. The team has also gotten great play from forwards Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello, who are working to push Minnesota towards a big playoff run. Currently winners of five straight games, the Wild will host a Maple Leafs that’s all of the sudden building a defensive identity.
The Maple Leafs have been thrilled by the performance of goalie Jack Campbell, who’s sweeping the major goalie categories, leading the league in goals against average, save percentage, and wins. Campbell will try to be locked in against this lethal Wild offense, who also have an impressive 9-2-0 record at home. Toronto has had a mixed bag of results on the road going 3-3-3. I like the way Minnesota has been playing lately, so I’ll take them over the Maple Leafs in a close one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (+102)
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Boston Bruins – 7.00PM ET
The Tampa Bay Lightning start a five game road trip in Boston when they take on the Bruins, who have just one game at home before heading out on the road again. The Lightning managed to get the all important win last time out, 4-2, against the Blues, which brings their season record to 13-5-4. The Bruins also won last time out, 2-0, against the Predators, and their season record currently sits as 11-8-0.
Denis Kirilov
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins will face each other for the first time this season. The Lightning seem to be in better form than the Bruins ahead of their meeting on Saturday. They are 6th in the East with 30 points, while Boston is 9th with 24 points. Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn have been decent throughout the opening stage of the campaign, while Victor Hedman is one of the highest contributors in the defensemen ranking. He has already scored 5 goals and added 17 assists which is an incredible achievement for somebody playing in the back.
The Bruins, on the other hand, have been on ups and downs recently. Their top player, Brad Marchand, will miss the upcoming fixture against Tampa due to suspension. With the absence of Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, something tells me that we won’t see many goals tomorrow. In my opinion, the option for “under points” seems like the most valuable one for this match. The Bruins and the Lightning are capable of scoring 4-5 goals each, but I believe we will see a more tactical and conservative approach, since the match is pretty important for both of them.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Boston Bruins (-125)
Tony Battalio
Tampa Bay will kick off a massive five game road trip against the Bruins in Boston at TD Garden on Saturday. The two time defending Stanley Cup Champions still have yet to live up the hype they garnered in the preseason as they have lost two of their last three games, as they look for a third straight championship. They come into this game with a record of 13-5-4 on the year as they are a full four games above the .500 mark and currently in third place in the Atlantic division behind Florida and Toronto.
Have a blast, BC. 🚀 #BudLightCelly | @BudLight pic.twitter.com/DZcvZFUAIq
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 3, 2021
The Boston Bruins come into this huge home game with a record of 12-8-0 on the season. As they are looking to make one final run towards a Stanley Cup trophy, with their aging core led by Brad Marchand. That is good for fifth place in the Atlantic division behind Florida, Toronto, their opponent Tampa, and the Detroit Red Wings. Boston has picked up victories in two of their last three games. As for the result of this game, I look for the Boston Bruins to pick up a huge win at home over the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Boston Bruins (-125)
Michael Lantz
The Boston Bruins continue to be a tough team to put a finger on as they sit at 12-8-0, after a nice 2-0 victory against the Nashville Predators. Through their first 20 games, they’ve continued to rely on the veteran playmaking of Brad Marchand, but have also seen young star David Pastrnak progress right in front of their eyes. The Bruins have had a lot of success against teams that are of equal record or worse, but have struggled against the tougher opponents.
Tampa Bay is one of those tougher opponents, as they sit at 13-5-4 and are 5-2-2 on the road. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are anchored by their three veteran players: Victor Hedman, Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos, as they continue to thrive even as Nikita Kucherov recovers from injury. Tampa will try to hold off a Boston team that has a decent 5-4-0 record on the road, but hasn’t really challenged the top-tier teams they’ve faced away from the TD Garden. I trust the Lightning to take care of business in this one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (+104)
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Washington Capitals – 7.00PM ET
The Columbus Blue Jackets end their road trip in Washington when they take on the Capitals, who start a three game homestand. The Blue Jackets will be looking to turn around the three game losing streak they currently find themselves in, but will face off against a tough opponent in the Capitals. The Capitals are one of the Blackhawks latest victims, as the Caps went down 3-4 in a shootout, and this puts them on a two game losing streak.
Denis Kirilov
The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals find themselves in a bad position ahead of their meeting tomorrow. Both teams are coming into the game on losing streaks. The Blue Jackets lost their last three games which were on the road against the likes of the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and Dallas Stars. The Capitals lost their last two matches against the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks. In both games they suffered a comeback late in the 3rd period which further emphasized on their inability to close out matches.
In my opinion, the Capitals are the superior team in this matchup. Although the Blue Jackets seem to find their rhythm from time to time, the inconsistency is a big problem for the team. Washington fights for 1st place in the Eastern Conference and a victory is a must for them. I don’t think they will let the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers extend their lead on the top of the table, so I will favor the Capitals in the upcoming fixture. However, I think that it’s worth it to try them to cover the spread as well.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Washington Capitals -1.5 (+118)
Tony Battalio
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the more surprising teams in the National Hockey League this year as we have reached the quarter mark of the 2021-22 season. They are heading into the finale of this four game road trip with a visit to the nation’s capital to play Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, looking for their first win on the trip. They have hit a slump as they hit the road to Dallas, Minnesota, and St. Louis and have been outscored 5-15 over those three contests. The three game losing streak has dropped their overall record on the year down to 12-9-0 and has put them in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Washington Capitals come into this game with a record of 14-4-6 on the year and are holding the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, they are a full ten points ahead of their opponents for this game, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Alexander Ovechkin seems dead set on making history this season as he continues to climb closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all time scoring record nearly every time he takes the ice. Washington has lost their last two games so they will likely be extra motivated to pick up a win in this game as they start their three game homestand on Saturday. As for the result of this game, I think the Columbus Blue Jackets will pull off the upset on the road, and it will start with keeping Alexander Ovechkin in check in this game.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets (+188)
Michael Lantz
Columbus had a good run from mid to late November as they won five out of their six games. Unfortunately, they’ve gone winless in their last three, including two games where they gave up six goals. They looked better in their last loss, which was a 2-3 defeat to a steaking Dallas Stars team. They’ll hope to return to their winning ways on Saturday, but it won’t be easy as they face off against a division leading Washington Capitals team.
The Caps had a good run of games during the end of November as they beat conference rivals the Panthers and Hurricanes, before losing a nail biting rematch against the Panthers 4-5. Unfortunately they followed that one up with a rotten 3-4 loss to the 9-12-2 Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll look to brush off their losing ways as they host the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. The Capitals are ranked in the top five in both goals for and fewest goals against, whereas Columbus’s defense hasn’t exactly been bulletproof, especially as of late. I think the Capitals playing at home should be the pick here as they’ve been a solid 7-1-4 at home this season.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capital -1.5 (+118)
Buffalo Sabres @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7.30PM ET
The Buffalo Sabres finish up their road trip when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who will finish up their homestand and hit the road after this game. The Sabres are currently on a three game losing streak, with losses to teams like the Red Wings, Kraken and Panthers. The Hurricanes suffered a surprising defeat to the Senators last time out 2-3, and this takes their current losing streak up to three.
Denis Kirilov
The Buffalo Sabres suffered a huge comeback last night against the Florida Panthers. They found themselves in a 4-1 leading position in the middle of the 2nd period, but six unanswered goals from the Panthers melted their hopes to take two surprising points from the game. The Sabres are among the teams with the worst defenses in the NHL as they have conceded 84 goals in 23 games so far. They are 13th in the East with just 19 points.
The Hurricanes, on the other hand, were the best team coming into November, but something didn’t add up for them in the last month. They lost 5 out of their last 6 games which was really unexpected. The losses to some of the worst teams in the NHL like the Ottawa Senators, the Seattle Kraken, and the Dallas Stars. which proved that the team is quite inefficient at the moment. They are dominating the matches, but it seems that they are not able to convert their chances. However, I am going to go with the Hurricanes, since it’s high-time they had some luck in front of the opponent’s goal. I will recommend picking the Hurricanes to cover their spread against a weakened Buffalo Sabres’ team.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (-115)
Tony Battalio
The Buffalo Sabres started the year, with the intention of putting the National Hockey League world on notice, and that is exactly what they did. They started the year off with five victories in their first eight games of the season. However once the month of November got into full swing they hit a bump in the road and have gone extremely cold. Since notching that fifth win back on October 28th, they have gone a miserable 3-12. Now they find themselves in the middle of a long stretch of losing seven of their last eight games dating back to the middle of November. Now they will be looking to snap their current three game skid and run of poor form against arguably the best team in the NHL.
The century mark for Turbo 💯 pic.twitter.com/5WgwEp9oZV
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 3, 2021
The Carolina Hurricanes come into this game with a record of 15-6-1 through their first twenty two games this season. They are currently in third place in the Atlantic Division behind the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers. Despite their impressive performance to open the year up they are currently on a three game losing streak after falling to the Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, and surprisingly the Ottawa Senators. They will be looking to close out their short two game homestand with a win over the Sabres on Saturday. As for the result of this game, that is exactly what I expect to happen as I look for the Hurricanes to pick up the win in this game.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-315)
Michael Lantz
After standing out early on as one of the best teams in the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes have lost three straight, dropping to third in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes might be without top defender and third leading scorer Tony DeAngelo, but that should be no excuse for losing to a team like the Ottawa Senators, which the ‘Canes did on Thursday night. They’ll look to bounce back against a Buffalo Sabres team that has a faltering defense, losing consecutive games 4-7.
Buffalo had a lot of folks fooled early on, starting the season 5-2. Now, a month and a half later they have an 8-12-3 record and are starting to slip down the Eastern Conference standings. That being said, they may be facing the Hurricanes at the perfect time, as Carolina are struggling against teams they should normally beat. The Sabres have a lot of guys who can put goals in, and while they don’t have anyone who’s a definitive scorer, the Hurricanes will always have to be alert. Still, I expect Frederik Andersen to come up big in this one as the Hurricanes must play better through injuries and can’t afford to lose against another bad team—especially in Raleigh.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-315)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
