With 6 games on for today’s action, you are surely set for the start of the weekend! Not only that but we have 3 FREE NHL picks for every single game. And we are on fire lately, so you don’t want to miss this…
Find all of our free NHL picks for the scheduled games below.
Montréal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators – 1:00 PM ET
Montréal was upset by Ottawa on Thursday, losing 3-2. That moved the Canadiens to 7-2-2. They have scored 46 goals while allowing 30, giving them a +16 goal differential, tops in the North Division. Montréal is in second in the division.
The Canadiens got a pedestrian performance out of goaltender Carey Price, who stopped 19 of 22 shots. Philip Danault had two assists for Montréal. Price now has a 2.81 GAA and a .899 save percentage. Jake Allen has been the better of the two goaltenders (2.02, .930), but has started only four of the team’s 11 games.
“Every game, every shift I play, I feel more comfortable on the ice.” #GoSensGo
📝 https://t.co/MPzmP22hiB pic.twitter.com/2NXZYETzhi
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 5, 2021
The victory for Ottawa was a huge one, snapping their nine-game winless streak. Ottawa is now 2-8-1, but are still last in the division. They have scored 27 goals while giving up 50, the second most in the NHL. The -23 goal differential is the worst in the league.
Matt Murray had his best start of the season, stopping 36 of 38 shots against Montréal. Murray now has a 4.40 GAA and a .866 save percentage, but it will be interesting to see if he can build off of this performance. The team is still struggling to score goals, with Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot leading the team in points with seven each.
NHL Pick – Montréal Canadiens (-233)
Spread Pick – Montréal Canadiens -1.5 (+431)
Total Goals Pick – Under 6.5 (-115)
New York Rangers @ New Jersey Devils – Postponed
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Arizona Coyotes @ St. Louis Blues – 3:00 PM ET
Arizona was originally scheduled to face Minnesota, but they will take on St. Louis on Saturday instead. The Coyotes have split with the Blues this week, losing on Tuesday, 4-3, before winning on Thursday, 4-3.
Arizona got 40 saves from Antti Raanta in the victory. That was just his second start of the season, and he has allowed three goals in each game. It will now likely be Darcy Kuemper who will be on goal on Saturday.
The Coyotes netminder has a 2.65 GAA and a .904 save percentage. With seven goals through the first two games against St. Louis, Arizona now has 27 goals scored and 29 allowed. Christian Dvorak leads the team in scoring with 11 points and six goals.
With the split of these first two games, St. Louis is 7-3-1, tied with Colorado for the top record in the West Division. They have scored 39 goals while allowing 36.
St. Louis has three players who are putting up big numbers, starting with Jordan Kyrou who has 12 points. Brayden Schenn leads the team in goals with six and has 11 points, as does David Perron. Jordan Binnington has a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage.
NHL Pick – Arizona Coyotes (+140)
Spread Pick – Arizona Coyotes +1.5 (-194)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+110)
Arizona Coyotes @ Minnesota Wild – Postponed
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Colorado Avalanche @ St. Louis Blues – Postponed
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Islanders – 7:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh lost to the New York Rangers on Monday, 3-1, that had both of their contests against New Jersey postponed. The Penguins are 5-4-1, fourth in the East Division. They have scored 30 goals while allowing 37. Pittsburgh has been terrible on the road the season, going 1-4-1.
When Casey DeSmith is in the net the team has a far better opportunity to win, as his 2.85 GAA is far superior to that of Tristan Jarry (3.92). Pittsburgh has not been much of a scoring machine the season, as Sidney Crosby leads the team with four goals and eight points.
Barry Trotz addressed the media following Friday’s practice.
Watch the full availability ➡️ https://t.co/8TUaZ126ej pic.twitter.com/RlewniJjJY
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 5, 2021
The Islanders have had both of their contests postponed this week. They are in last place in the East at 3-4-2. Goal scoring has been a major issue for the Islanders, who had just 19 tallies this season.
Mathew Barzal leads the team with four goals, six assists, and 10 points. Three players have combined for 10 of the team’s 19 goals. Semyon Varlamov was out of this world through the first three games, but now has a 2.00 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
NHL Pick – New York Islanders (-110)
Spread Pick – New York Islanders +1.5 (-289)
Total Goals Pick – Under 5.5 (-115)
Vancouver Canucks @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7:00 PM ET
Vancouver has lost all three games this week, yielding 18 goals in the three contests. Prior to this week, they had a streak of four straight games where the goaltenders allowed just one goal in each of those contests.
Those days look to be over, however. The Canucks have now allowed 55 goals this season, the most in the NHL. They have also scored the most goals at 48. Braden Holtby (3.63, .896) and Thatcher Demko (3.81, .897) have not been very good in the net, but they are getting very little support from their defense.
This is a team constantly on the move to try to score goals, often leaving their netminder high and dry. Four players have at least 12 points on this team, led by Quinn Hughes who has 14 assists and 15 points.
Toronto defeated Vancouver on Thursday, 7-3. Jason Spezza recorded a hat trick and Auston Matthews added two goals to lead Toronto to victory. The Maple Leafs are now 8-2-1, tops in the North Division.
They have scored 40 goals while allowing 32. Frederik Andersen continues to be the workhorse of this team, starting nine of the team’s 11 games. He has a 3.01 GAA and a .888 save percentage. Four Toronto players have at least 11 points this season, led by Mitchell Marner with 17. Matthews leads the team with 8 goals.
NHL Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs (-185)
Spread Pick – Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+124)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.5 (-130)
Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins – Postponed
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM ET
These teams play one another on Friday night. This article was written prior to the conclusion of that contest. The Sharks are in last place in the West at 3-5-0. They have allowed 31 goals while scoring 22.
The -9 goal differential is tied for the worst in the division, tied with Anaheim in fact. It will likely be Martin Jones (3.91, .871) on net on Friday, so Devan Dubnyk (3.23, .902) will likely be between the pipes on Saturday. That is actually good news for Sharks fans. Tomas Hertl leads the team with seven points.
1️⃣7️⃣3️⃣2️⃣
Patrick Marleau passes Ron Francis and stands alone with the fourth-most games played in NHL history! pic.twitter.com/3G1QfcnYZl
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 6, 2021
Anaheim is coming off a big 3-1 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday. Goaltender John Gibson continues to impress, posting a 2.34 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
He has started 10 of the team’s 12 games and so it would not be surprising to see him get the start in both games against San Jose. If not, Ryan Miller (3.13, .893) will get the start. The Ducks have four players who lead the team in scoring with five points each.
NHL Pick – Anaheim Ducks (-125)
Spread Pick – San Jose Sharks +1.5 (-274)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (-105)
Edmonton Oilers @ Calgary Flames – 10:00 PM ET
Edmonton defeated Ottawa on Tuesday, 4-2. That moved to the Oilers to 6-6-0, tied for fourth in the division. They have scored 42 goals while allowing 43. Edmonton has the two most dynamic players in the NHL right now, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
McDavid leads the NHL in points with 24 with his teammate right behind him with 22. Mikko Koskinen has been a workhorse for Edmonton, starting 11 of the team’s 12 games. He has a 3.31 GAA and a .897 save percentage.
Calgary opened the week with a 4-3 shootout victory over Winnipeg, but has dropped the last two contests against the Jets. That moved the Flames to 4-5-1, sixth in the division.
They have scored 27 goals while allowing 27 goals. Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm each have 11 points to lead the Calgary offense. Gaudreau leads the team with six goals. Jacob Markstrom has been solid between the pipes, posting a 2.37 GAA and a .920 save percentage in eight starts.
NHL Pick – Edmonton Oilers (+105)
Spread Pick – Edmonton Oilers +1.5 (-229)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.5 (-110)
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.
