We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move into the final stretch of the season, each division’s ladder has already become well formed. This means that every single win or loss can have a significant impact on the position each team will finish in when the regular season draws to a close, 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.
Florida Panthers @ Detroit Red Wings – 1.00PM ET
We kick things off in the NHL for Sunday with a game between the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings. The Panthers have been officially confirmed for the playoffs for a while now, and they are currently on a nine game winning streak. The Red Wings, on the other hand, will not be making an appearance in the 2022 playoffs, and they have lost nine of their last 12 games.
Marko Nadin
The Detroit Red Wings are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 29-36-10 record and have been out of the playoff conversation. The Red Wings have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 0-4 loss to the New York Rangers. They are the second worst defensive team in the league allowing 3.8 goals per game and have conceded 10 or more goals in a single game twice this season. Detroit has lost 12 of the last 15 games as a home underdog and 5 of the last 6 home games overall.
The Florida Panthers are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 53-15-6 record and are 8 points ahead of the Hurricanes who are second. Florida has won the last 9 games and is coming off a 6-1 win over Winnipeg Jets. They are the best offensive team in the league scoring 4.2 goals per game on 37.7 shots on goal per game and 24.1% conversion of the power play opportunities. Florida has won 8 of the last 10 games against Detroit, 16 of the last 21 road games and 42 of the last 51 games against a team with a losing record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-360)
Tony Battalio
The Florida Panthers come into this one with a record of 53-15-6 through their first 74 games of the season. They have already locked up a Stanley Cup playoff spot and are on the cusp of locking up on the Atlantic Division as well. As they have an eight point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs with eight games remaining in the regular season. Which means a win in this one would go a long way to clinching their first division title in six years. The Panthers are currently on a nine game winning streak.
The Detroit Red Wings have had a less than spectacular season this year as they come into this game with a record of 29-36-10 through their first 75 games of the season. They have won three of their last five games as they are building a little momentum heading into the off-season. As for the result of this game, I’m taking the Florida Panthers to get the win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-360)
St. Louis Blues @ Nashville Predators – 6.00PM ET
The St. Louis Blues are on the road for just one game when they travel to Nashville to hit the ice against the Predators. The Blues are closing out the season with a bang, and will be making an appearance in the postseason this year. The Predators currently hold a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, but it is a close race between them and two other teams.
Marko Nadin
The Nashville Predators are sixth in the Western Conference with a 43-27-5 record and have a 4 points advantage over the Vegas Golden Knights who are in ninth place. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators are ranked 7th in the league converting 24% of the power play opportunities and are ranked 11th scoring 3.2 goals per game. Nashville has won 10 of the last 12 Sunday games and 4 of the last 5 against Central Division rivals.
The St. Louis Blues are second in the Western Conference with a 45-20-10 record and are 14 points behind the leading Colorado Avalanche. The Blues have won the last 8 games and are coming off a 6-5 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. The Blues are ranked 4th in the league averaging 3.7 goals per game and are ranked second with 25.9% conversion of the power play opportunities. St. Louis has won the last 2 games against Nashville, 5 of the last 6 road games and 13 of the last 19 games against a team with a winning record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Nashville Predators (-105)
Tony Battalio
The St. Louis Blues will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back they had an absolute thriller with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The Blues picked a win over Minnesota and now they will be looking to make it two in two days against the Nashville Predators. They are sitting in second place in the Central Division and have already locked up their Stanley Cup playoff spot. They are currently on an eight game winning streak as they are closing out the regular season building up tons of momentum.
The Nashville Predators are coming into this game with a record of 43-27-5 through their first 75 games of the season. They are currently in fourth place in the Central Division and are leading the Western Conference Wild Card race. They are coming off of a back to back on Saturday. In the first game of their back to back they picked up a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Now they will be looking to get their second win in two days against a red hot St. Louis Blues team. As for the result of this game, I have the Predators picking up the victory over the Blues.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Nashville Predators (-105)
San Jose Sharks @ Minnesota Wild – 6.00PM ET
The San Jose Sharks wrap up their road trip on Sunday night with a game against the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks are playing on back-to-back nights, and they lost 1-2 to the Stars yesterday, they don’t really have anything to play for anyway, as they have been out of playoff contention for a while. The Wild are currently in third place in the Central Division, and are looking forward to the playoffs.
Marko Nadin
The Minnesota Wild are fourth in the Western Conference with a 46-21-7 record. They are coming off a 5-6 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues that put an end to a three-game winning streak. The Wild are ranked 5th in the league scoring 3.7 goals per game and 17th allowing 3.1 goals per game. They have won 6 of the last 10 games against San Jose, 12 of the last 15 overall, 46 of the last 61 home games and 7 of the last 9 against Western Conference opponents.
The San Jose Sharks are 13th in the Western Conference with a 29-34-11 record. They have lost the last 9 games and are coming off a 1-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. The Sharks are ranked third-worst in the league scoring only 2.6 goals per game and 20th allowing 3.1 goals per game. They are the third-best team in the league defending power play situations with 85.8%. The Sharks have lost 19 of the last 26 games against Western Conference opponents and 18 of the last 23 road games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-310)
Tony Battalio
It’s been a very rough season for the San Jose Sharks this year. After a decent first half of the year, the wheels absolutely fell off in the second half and now they find themselves at the bottom of the National Hockey League standings. They come into this game with a record of 29-34-11 through their first 74 games of the season. They are playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back they lost to the Dallas Stars. The loss to Dallas was their ninth straight loss as they will look to snap that streak in this one.
The Minnesota Wild also come into this game coming off of the first game of a back to back against the St. Louis Blues. It was a thriller of a game but in the end it was the St. Louis Blues who picked up the victory over the Minnesota Wild. Now they will look to rebound coming off of the loss as they come into this matchup with a record of 46-21-7 through their first 74 games of the season. They are currently in third place in the Central Division. As for the result of this game, I have the Minnesota Wild picking up the victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-310)
New York Islanders @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7.30PM ET
The New York Islanders wrap up their three game road trip on Sunday night when they face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders are not going to be playing in the postseason this year, as they have a record of 35-30-5. The Maple Leafs are one of the teams that has already been officially confirmed for the playoffs as they currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division.
Marko Nadin
The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently third in the Eastern Conference with a 49-20-6 record and are one of the top three teams in the East with 104 points. The Maple Leafs have won 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators. They are ranked second in the league with a 3.9 goals per game led by the best scorer in the league Auston Matthews. Toronto is the best team in the league when it comes to power play conversion with 27.8%.
The New York Islanders are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 35-30-9 record and are still theoretically in the playoff race despite having a 15 point deficit to the eighth place Washington Capitals. The Islanders have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. They are sixth in the league allowing 2.7 goals per game and fourth defending 85.1% of the power play situations. The Islanders have won 7 of the last 8 games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-205)
Tony Battalio
The New York Islanders have been a disappointment this season and have performed well below expectations. They come into this game sitting towards the bottom half of the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference standings with a record of 35-30-9 through their first 74 games of the season. They come into this one on a one game winning streak after picking up a victory over the Montreal Canadiens in their last matchup. Now they will be looking to make it two in a row against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season. As alongside the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, they give Canada their best chance to bring home a Stanley Cup for the first time in several decades. The Maple Leafs come into this game with a record of 49-20-6 through their first 75 games of the season. They will be playing the second game of a back to back into this one. As for the result of this one, I’m taking the Toronto Maple Leafs to get the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-205)
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Anaheim Ducks – 8.30PM ET
The final game on the schedule for Sunday will see the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the road and take on the Anaheim Ducks. Both the Blue Jackets and Ducks will not be making the playoffs in 2022. The Blue Jackets are playing two nights in a row, and in their last game they lost 1-2 to the Kings. The Ducks are currently on a three game losing streak, after going down to the Hurricanes, Panthers and Lightning.
Marko Nadin
The Columbus Blue Jackets are 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 35-34-6 record and have lost any chance of reaching the playoffs. The Blue Jackets have won 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 1-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. They are ranked 12th in the league scoring 3.2 goals per game but they concede 3.7 goals per game which is fourth-worst in the league. Columbus has won 5 of the last 7 Sunday games but has lost 5 of the last 7 road games and 8 of the last 11 overall.
The Anaheim Ducks are 12th in the Western Conference with a 29-33-14 record. They have lost the last three games and are coming off a 3-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Ducks are ranked 24th in the league scoring 2.8 goals per game and 22nd allowing 3.2 goals per game. They have won 5 of the last 6 games against Columbus and 14 of the last 20 games as favorites. On the other hand, Anaheim has lost 5 of the last 7 games against a team with a winning record and 7 of the last 8 games against a Eastern Conference opponent.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Over 6.5 (-110)
Tony Battalio
The Columbus Blue Jackets are playing in the second game of a back to back in this one after falling to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night by a score of 1-2. They have had a ton of ups and downs this season as they can’t seem to stay consistent and it has cost them plenty of victories this year. Following the loss they now come into this game with a record of 35-33-6 through their first 74 games of the season. As they have already been officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs at this point. They currently find themselves in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Anaheim Ducks are coming into this game just trying to get this frustrating season over with and get into the offseason. They come into this game with a record of 29-33-14 through their first 76 games of the season as they have already been officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. They currently find themselves in sixth place of the Pacific Division as well which is likely where they will finish the regular season at. As for the result of this game, I am taking the Columbus Blue Jackets to get the victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets +128)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
