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.
Boston Bruins @ Washington Capitals – 1:30pm ET
This is going to be one of the better games of the evening as the Boston Bruins travel to the nation’s capital to play the Washington Capitals. As both of these teams are currently in the race for the Eastern Conference wild-card spots.
Marko Nadin
The Washington Capitals are 8th in the Eastern Conference with a 39-22-10 record and have 13 points advantage over the next team in the standings which makes their playoff berth pretty much a done deal. They have won 4 of the last 6 games and are coming off a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington is 11th in the league with 3.3 goals per game and fifth allowing only 28.7 shots on goal per game. Washington has won 7 of the last 8 games against Eastern Conference rivals and 5 of the last 7 games as underdogs.
The Boston Bruins are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 45-21-5 record. They have won 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins are ranked 4th in the league allowing 2.7 goals per game and second with 36.1 shots per goal per game. Boston has won the last 6 games against Washington and 9 of the last 11 against Eastern Conference teams. They have also won the last 5 games against Metropolitan Division teams and 4 of the last 5 road games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Boston Bruins (-114)
Tony Battalio
This is going to be one of the best games of the Sunday slate as two teams battling for Eastern Conference playoff spots are set to face off. The Boston Bruins come into this game with a record of 45-21-5 through their first 71 games of the season. They currently find themselves in third place in the Atlantic division as they hold a small one point lead over the two time defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. With a win in this one, the Bruins could potentially lock up at least a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Washington Capitals will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back, they beat their longtime rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 6-3 at PPG Paints Arena. Now they will look to make it two wins in two days as they take on the Boston Bruins at home. Washington is always going to be a dark horse Stanley Cup team as long as Alexander Ovechkin can remain healthy from now until the playoffs. As for the result of this game I have the Washington Capitals picking up another victory this weekend.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-105)
Jeffery Thomas
The Boston Bruins will come into their road game against the Washington Capitals as one of the hottest teams in the league since mid-February and looking to keep it going. The Bs will turn to Linus Ullmark in this one, who is riding a personal six-game winning streak and hasn’t lost a revaluation season start since March 1. He will feel right at home in this matchup, as he is already 2-0-0 against the Caps this season. Washington is dealing with struggling goaltending themselves and are still stuck in the second wild-card spot. They will be on the back-to-back after a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. This sets them up to go to Vitek Vanecek in net for this game, who has a 1-4-0 in the last three weeks and is appearing to run out of gas.
These two teams met twice in January with the Bruins winning both and given the form of each team, I think getting Boston at close to a pick ‘em price is a steal. With Washington practically locked into the second Wild-card, the Bruins also have more to play for and I think we’ll see a nice road victory for them on Sunday.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Boston Bruins (-114)
Nashville Predators @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 4pm ET
This is yet another good game on the slate for Sunday as the Nashville Predators take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators are looking to hunt their way into the playoffs, while the Penguins are all but officially clinched into the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season.
Marko Nadin
The Pittsburgh Penguins are seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 41-22-10 record. They have lost the last 4 games and are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. The Penguins are 12th in the league scoring 3.2 goals per game and are ranked second-best defending 85.7% of the power play situations. Pittsburgh has won 6 of the last 10 games against Nashville and 19 of the last 27 games against Central Division teams. Pittsburgh has lost 5 of the last 6 games against teams with a winning record.
The Nashville Predators are sixth in the Western Conference with a 41-26-4 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Predators are ranked 9th in the league with 3.3 goals per game and sixth with 24.8% conversion of the power play situations. The Predators have won 4 of the last 5 games against Eastern Conference opponents and 19 of the last 26 games played on Sunday
Marko’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins (-178)
Tony Battalio
The Nashville Predators come into this one on the outside looking in as they currently sit in fourth place in the Central division at the moment. However, they do hold a very slim two point lead over the Western Conference wild card race. They will be playing their second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back, they lost to the Florida Panthers by a score of 4-1. Now they will be looking to bounce back against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nashville comes into this one with a record of 41-26-4 through their first 71 games of the season.
The previously mentioned Pittsburgh Penguins come into this one after also playing the first game of a back to back on Saturday afternoon. They are also coming off of a loss as well as they failed to beat the Washington Capitals at home in the Steel City. Now they will be looking to bounce back in this one against the Nashville Predators. Pittsburgh comes into this game with a record of 41-22-10 through their first 73 games of the season. As for the result of this one I have the Predators getting the victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Nashville Predators (+146)
Jeffery Thomas
The Pittsburgh Penguins remain winless in April following their 6-3 Saturday loss to the Washington Capitals. They’ll remain at home and play another one on Sunday, this time facing the Nashville Predators who were also in action on Saturday. The Preds suffered a 3-goal loss too, losing 4-1 to the red-hot Florida Panthers, snapping a two-game winning streak.
Both teams will have tired legs in this one and both gave up 10 combined goals in their games on Saturday. The over for this one should be set at 6.5 or 7 so getting it at 6 is the perfect value for two teams that can score and also give up a lot of goals. I love the over in what will be a high-scoring affair.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Over 6.5 goals (-114)
Buffalo Sabres @ Tampa Bay Lightning – 5pm ET
This one could either be a half decent game or turn into a bloodbath very quickly. As the Buffalo Sabres are set to face off with the Tampa Bay Lightning in this Eastern Conference matchup.
Marko Nadin
The Tampa Bay Lightning are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 43-20-8 record. The defending champions have lost the last 4 games which is their longest losing streak for the season. The Lightning is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. They are 10th in the league with 3.3 goals per game and have won 8 of the last 9 games against Buffalo. The Lightning has also won 4 of the last 5 games played on Sunday 72 of the last 104 home games.
The Buffalo Sabres are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-36-11 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Sabres are ranked 27th in the league with 2.7 goals per game and 3.5 allowed goals per game. They have lost 41 of the last 55 games as road underdogs, 93 of the last 126 road games, and 48 of the last 65 games against teams with a winning record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-360)
Tony Battalio
The Buffalo Sabres have been the worst team in the National Hockey League for the last several years now. They come into this game with a record of 26-36-11 through their first 73 games of the season. With only 9 games remaining in the regular season for the Sabres they have already been officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Buffalo comes into this one on a two game losing streak after back to back losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. This three game stretch for the Sabres is the hardest in the league.
The two time defending Stanley Cup champions come into this game with a record of 43-20-8 through their first 71 games of the season. With only 11 games remaining for the Lightning in the regular season they will be looking to catch fire heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs as they look to three peat as champions. They are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic division but hold onto one of the Eastern Conference playoff spots. As for the result of this game I have the Lightning getting the victory over Buffalo.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-360)
Jeffery Thomas
The Buffalo Sabres have been brought back down to Earth after a pretty decent month of March and have now lost three of their last four games. In their defense though, those four games were against the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers, two of the best teams in the league so there’s no shame in losing those. Unfortunately, this game on Sunday is against another great team that will be coming in pretty angry. That team is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have now lost four straight following another close loss on Friday, 2-1 to the Bruins. The Bolts are now a wild-card team due to this recent slide and will be desperate to get 2 points here against the Sabres.
Laying almost -400 juice on the Lightning right now is just something I can’t do with confidence. They have not looked too fluid in their play recently and it’s showing in the results. The two-time defending champs maybe just looking ahead to the playoffs at this point and given the fact that Buffalo has already beaten them once this year, it’s not crazy to think they can keep this one close. Give me the Sabres to cover against a very vulnerable Tampa team right now.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Buffalo Sabres +1.5 (+105)
Los Angeles Kings @ Minnesota Wild – 5pm ET
This Western Conference matchup has a lot of playoff implications at stake. As the Los Angeles Kings travel to the Midwest to play the Minnesota Wild in what feels like a must win game for the Kings.
Marko Nadin
The Minnesota Wild are fourth in the Western Conference with a 43-21-6 record. They have lost the last two games and are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. The Wild are ranked fifth in the league with 3.6 goals per game. The Wild have won 4 of the last 5 and 7 of the last 10 games against LA. They have also won 40 of the last 53 games as home favorites and 9 of the last 12 games overall. Minnesota has played over the total goals margin in 35 of the last 51 games played after one day’s rest.
The Los Angeles Kings are seventh in the Western Conference with a 38-25-10 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 3-to 2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. LA is second in the league allowing only 28.7 shots on goal per game and is fifth with 35 shots on goal per game. The Kings have won 6 of the last 8 games played after 2 games of rest, 11 of the last 15 road games, and the last 6 games played on Sunday. They have played over the total goals margin in the last 4 games and 5 of the last 7 road games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-182)
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Kings are coming into this game with a record of 38-25-10 through their first 73 games of the season. With only nine games remaining in the regular season for the Kings they are currently in third place in the Pacific division at the moment. The Kings are currently on a two game losing streak after losing back to back games to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers by identical scores of 3-2. Los Angeles will have to break their slump if they want to hold onto their playoff spot down the stretch.
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 43-21-6 through their first 70 games of the season. With 12 games remaining in the regular season for the Minnesota Wild they currently find themselves in third place in the Central division. They are currently on a two game losing streak after dropping back to back games to the Nashville Predators and St.Louis Blues. As for the result of this game I have the Los Angeles Kings adding another loss to the Wild’s current skid.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Los Angeles Kings (+150)
Jeffery Thomas
The Los Angeles Kings get a road matchup with the Minnesota Wild following their 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. It was yet another low-scoring affair for a Kings team that has been playing excellent defense, only allowing 2.5 goals a game in their last four. On the flip side, the offense has been poor, only scoring 2.33 goals a game in their last six contests and it’s unlikely they pick it up against a Wild team that has only allowed 2.18 goals a game to opponents in their last 11 contests.
Both teams have been involved in a lot of low-scoring affairs and I think we get another one on Sunday. The under has hit in 5 of the last 8 meetings and it’s likely the trend continues here. Give me the under in a good ole fashioned defensive battle.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Under 6 (-128)
Anaheim Ducks @ Carolina Hurricanes – 6pm ET
This Eastern Conference vs Western Conference matchup features the Anaheim Ducks heading across the country to play the Carolina Hurricanes. Both of these teams have had very different seasons.
Marko Nadin
The Carolina Hurricanes are third in the Eastern Conference with a 46-18-8 record. The Hurricanes have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders. Carolina is ranked the best in the league allowing 2.4 goals per game, 28.3 allowed shots on goal, and 88.2% defending of the power play situations. The Hurricanes have won 5 of the last 6 games against teams with a losing record under 40%, 19 of the last 26 games playing after 1-day rest, and 21 of the last 27 games against Pacific Division teams.
The Anaheim Ducks are 12th in the Western Conference with a 29-32-12 record. They have 13 of the last 15 games and recently were on an 11-game losing streak. The Ducks are coming off a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. They are ranked 23rd in the league scoring 2.8 goals per game. The Ducks have won 7 of the last 10 games against Carolina. They have lost 6 of the last 7 road games and 44of the last 54 games against teams with a winning record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-430)
Tony Battalio
It’s been an up and down season for the Anaheim Ducks as their play has been very inconsistent. They have had several losing streaks and winning streaks but could never quite get it together to become a serious threat to make a run this season. Now they come into this game with a record of 29-32-12 through their first 73 games of the season. With only nine games remaining in the regular season for the Anaheim Ducks they are sixth place in the Pacific division.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season. They are one of the top favorites in the Eastern Conference and if they get hot heading into the playoffs could breeze their way through the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hurricanes come into this game with a record of 46-18-8 through their first 72 games of the season. They are in first place of the Metropolitan division. As for the result of this game I have the Carolina Hurricanes getting the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-430)
Jeffery Thomas
The wheels have completely fallen off for the Anaheim Ducks and they come into this game on a 2-10-3 stretch. Now they have to contend with traveling to one of the toughest buildings in the league the back-to-back. The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t been playing all that well lately, but get a favorable spot on Sunday and should be able to impose their will on this bad Ducks team. Their 2-1 loss on Friday to the Islanders was a struggle for their offense, but generating chances in this one should not be a problem at all.
The Ducks thin roster will not have the horses to compete with this deep Canes team and I expect to see at least 40 shots for Carolina in this one. That number should produce a good amount of offense and be able to put the Ducks away in blowout fashion. Give me Carolina to defend home ice emphatically.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -2.5 (+115)
If you’re looking for more NHL news, information, and predictions, head over to our NHL hub page for all your ice hockey needs!
*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
