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 an 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!
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Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the best five games on today’s schedule.
Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Islanders – 1.00PM ET
The road trip continues on for the Carolina Hurricanes who will play both New York teams in back-to-back games, and tonight they will face off against the Islanders. The Hurricanes have long been confirmed for the playoffs, and they currently sit in the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, but they have the Rangers breathing down their necks. The Islanders, on the other hand, have long been out of playoff contention, and they are currently on a two game losing streak.
Marko Nadin
The New York Islanders entered the season with high hopes but will finish in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and miss the playoffs this year. They are currently at a 35-33-10 record. The Islanders have lost the last 4 games most recently 3-5 to the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders are ranked 8th in the league allowing 2.8 goals per game and are fourth place defending 84.2% of the power play situations. The Islanders have won 6 of the last 8 games against Metropolitan Division rivals.
The Carolina Hurricanes are second in the Eastern Conference with a 51-20-8 record. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes are the best team in the league when it comes to goals allowed with 2.4 per game, shots on goal allowed with 28.1 and in defending power play situations with 88.1%. Carolina has won 5 of the last 6 games as road favorite but have lost the last 4 games played without a day off.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Under 6 (-122)
Tony Battalio
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming into this one as one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. They currently have a record of 51-20-8 through their first 79 games of the regular season. With only three games remaining in the regular season they are locked in a race with the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan Division crown. They will face off with the Rangers soon and it is likely that the winner of that game will determine who wins the division. They currently hold a two point lead over New York as they are level on 79 games.
The New York Islanders have been having a rough season as they started the season on a lengthy road trip. They come into this game with a record of 35-33-10 through their first 78 games of the regular season. They will be looking towards the draft and the off-season as the 2021-2022 National Hockey League season is winding down to the final few days. New York comes into this one on a four game losing streak. As for the result of this game, I have the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-160)
Jeffery Thomas
The Carolina Hurricanes will continue their three-game road trip when they travel to take on the New York Islanders on Sunday. This game will be the second of a back-to-back for the Canes who had to rally from a two-goal deficit to beat the New Jersey Devils in overtime on Saturday. It was the third straight win for Carolina, which gave them 110 points and a two-point lead over the New York Rangers in the Metro Division race.
The Islanders will also be on the back-to-back after dropping a 3-5 result on the road to the Buffalo Sabres. It was the fourth straight loss for New York, who was officially eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the week. Neither team gets a lot of confidence from me with their recent play, but I think this is a good price we’re getting here for the much better team. Carolina should see this as another bounce-back spot for them against an Islanders team that just seems to have checked out for the season.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-160)
Colorado Avalanche @ Winnipeg Jets – 7.00PM ET
The Colorado Avalanche wrap up their three game road trip tonight with a game against the Winnipeg Jets. The Avalanche are sitting pretty at the top of the Western Conference and they will be looking to become the team with the most points in the entire league, as they are currently trailing the Panthers. The Jets will not be making an appearance in the playoffs this season, and they are currently on a four game losing streak.
Marko Nadin
The Winnipeg Jets are 11th in the Western Conference with a 35-32-11 record. They have lost the last 4 games, most recently 2-4 to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Jets are 17th in the league scoring 3 goals per game and 21st allowing 3.2 goals per game. Winnipeg has won 5 of the last 7 games against Western Conference teams, 40 of the last 56 games played on Sunday but have lost 7 of the last 8 games played after 2 days of rest. The Jets have played over the total goals margin in 6 of the last 7 games against a Central Division team.
The Colorado Avalanche are one of the best teams in the league with a 55-17-6 record. They have lost the last three games which is their longest losing streak since the first week of the regular season. The Avalanche are coming off a 3-6 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. They are ranked third in the league with 3.8 goals per game. Colorado has won 7 of the last 8 games against Winnipeg. They have also won 19 of the last 27 games against Western Conference opponents.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-215)
Tony Battalio
The Colorado Avalanche will be looking to keep the momentum rolling as they head into the Stanley Cup playoffs as the current favorite to bring home the title. They come into this game with a record of 55-17-6 through their first 78 games of the season. They have already locked up the Central Division crown and the best record in the Western Conference as they will have home ice advantage throughout the western conference playoffs. As long as Florida doesn’t make the Stanley Cup finals, then the Avalanche will also get home ice in the finals if they make it.
The Winnipeg Jets were still in the thick of the playoff race up until this week when they were finally officially eliminated. They come into this game with a record of 35-32-11 through their first 78 games of the regular season. They currently sit in sixth place in the Central Division as they will be looking to bounce back next year and get themselves into the postseason. They are currently on a four game losing streak at the moment. As for the result of this game, I am taking the Colorado Avalanche to get the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-215)
Jeffery Thomas
The Colorado Avalanche will travel north of the border to take on their Central Division rival the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. The Avs find themselves in a spot they’re not used to and that is being losers of three straight games. Their effort may have dropped off since the 1 seed is locked up but even them at 80% effort should be able to make easy work of Winnipeg who is also in poor form. The Jets have lost four straight games and all the losses have come by at least a 2-goal margin.
They’re averaging just 1.75 goals a game in that span and there’s no reason to believe that will magically improve against one of the best teams in the league. The Avalanche have loved this matchup and have dominated it, winning seven of the past eight meetings. Five of those seven wins have come by at least 2 goals, so getting the spread at plus money is probably one of the best values on the board for Sunday. I’m taking that all day as I just don’t think this is a favorable spot for the home Jets, who will continue their downward spiral.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+125)
Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators – 8.00PM ET
The Minnesota Wild are on the road for just one game on Sunday night when they travel to Nashville for a game against the Predators. We will be seeing the Wild in the playoffs this year, the Wild currently sit in second place in the Central Division, but they are in a tight fight with the Blues for that spot as well. The Predators are still yet to be officially confirmed for the playoffs, but they currently sit in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Marko Nadin
The Nashville Predators are seventh in the Western Conference with a 44-29-5 and have the same number of points as the Dallas Stars who are in the eighth spot. The Predators have lost 3 off the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nashville is ranked 12th in the league scoring 3.2 goals per game and 14th allowing 3 goals per game. The Predators have won 9 of the last 10 games against Minnesota including the last 3. They have also won 38 of the last 56 home games.
The Minnesota Wild are second in the Western Conference with a 50-21-7 record. They have won the last four games and are coming off a 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. The Wild are ranked fifth in the league scoring 3.7 goals per game and 17th allowing 3 goals per game. Minnesota has won 6 of the last 7 games against Western Conference rivals, the last 4 games played on Sunday and 5 of the last 6 games played after 1 day of rest. They have played over the total goals margin in the last 4 games against Western Conference rivals.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Nashville Predators (+100)
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Wild are one of my main dark horse teams to compete for a Stanley Cup trophy this season. As they have been one of the most consistent teams throughout the 2021-22 National Hockey League season. They come into this game with a record of 50-21-7 through their first 78 games of the season. They are likely going to finish the season in second or third place in the Central Division as they are out of contention to win the Central Division as Colorado has locked it up.
The Nashville Predators are one of the last teams in the league that still has their season in limbo as they still have yet to clinched a playoff spot or be eliminated from the playoffs. They come into this game as the number one Wild Card team in the Western Conference at the moment as they are on the verge of locking up their spot. They come into this one with a record of 44-29-5 through their first 78 games of the season. As for the result of this one, I am taking the Minnesota Wild to pick up the win over the Nashville Predators.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-120)
Jeffery Thomas
Huge game in the Central Division as the Minnesota Wild travel to Nashville to take on the Predators. Both teams will come in looking for a win and 2 points to keep their playoff spots intact so it’s going to be an entertaining battle. Both teams are really good and the Wild have had a better regular season but it has been the Preds who have dominated the head to head this season. They have won every meeting by at least three goals, but will play this game on the second leg of a back-to-back following their 2-6 loss on the road to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Minnesota on the other hand, will be more rested having not played since Friday, and is currently on a four-game winning streak. Getting the Predators as a short underdog at home has to be an automatic play most of the time. Pair that with the fact that they’ve dominated this matchup and it makes it even easier to back them here, even if the Wild are coming into the game in good form. This is one of the hardest arenas to get a win as a road team and I’m not confident the Wild have what it takes to get their first win against Nashville on Sunday.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Nashville Predators (+100)
St. Louis Blues @ Anaheim Ducks – 8.30PM ET
The road trip continues for the St. Louis Blues on Sunday and tonight they face off against the Anaheim Ducks. The Blues are in the playoffs, and they are currently sitting in third place in the Central Division and they are fighting with the Wild for that second place. The Ducks didn’t put in a good enough season to get through to the playoffs, they have a season record 30-34-14.
Marko Nadin
The Anaheim Ducks are having a disappointing season as they are 13th in the Western Conference with a 30-34-14 record. The Ducks have lost five of the last six games and are coming off a 2-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings last night. The Ducks are ranked 24th in the league scoring 2.8 goals per game and 22nd in the league allowing 3.2 goals per game. Anaheim has won 5 of the last 6 games against St. Louis but have lost 43 of the last 64 home games. They have played over the total goals margin in 5 of the last 8 games.
The St. Louis Blues are fourth in the Western Conference with a 47-20-11 record and they can not drop lower in the standings since they are 7 points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. The Blues have won 11 of the last 12 games including the last 2 that came after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. The Blues are ranked fourth in the league with 3.7 goals per game and second in the league converting 26.6% of the power play situations. St. Louis has won the last 7 games against teams with a losing record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues (-245)
Tony Battalio
The St. Louis Blues will be playing in the second game of a back to back on Sunday night. In the first game of their back to back they picked up a 5-4 victory in overtime over the Arizona Coyotes. They are currently in third place of the Central Division as they have already clinched their spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I think they are a dark horse team to win the Stanley Cup if they stay healthy. They currently have a record of 48-20-11 through their first 79 games of the season. They come into this one on a two game winning streak.
The Anaheim Ducks have had a roller coaster of a season as they have had several ups and downs and now find themselves towards the bottom of the standings. Anaheim is coming into this game with a record of 30-35-14 through their first 79 games of the season. They will be looking towards the draft and the off-season as they will find a way to be more competitive. They had had a few bright spots this season like Trevor Zegres. As for the result of this game, I am taking the St. Louis Blues to pick up the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues (-245)
Jeffery Thomas
The St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks will both be on the back-to-back after being in action on Saturday night. The Blues were in Arizona for a battle with the Coyotes and came away with a 5-4 victory in overtime. It looked like it was going to be a routine victory for St. Louis, who went into the third period up 4-1, but they couldn’t hold off the late rally from the feisty Coyotes. Fortunately for them, they were still able to regroup and get the 2 points in overtime and now they’ll look to their road game against the Ducks on Sunday.
The Blues had to exert a little more energy than they expected in Saturday’s win but this is still another favorable spot for them. The Ducks had a tough game themselves and just won’t have much motivation to get up for another tough battle on Sunday and I don’t see them keeping this one close at all.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues -1.5 (+108)
San Jose Sharks @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10.00PM ET
The final game on the NHL slate for Sunday will see the San Jose Sharks hit the road and take on the Vegas Golden Knights. We will not be seeing the Sharks in the playoffs this season and they have lost 11 of their last 12 games. The Golden Knights still have a chance to make the playoffs as they are currently in third place in the Wild Card race, but they need to ensure they keep winning, and they need other teams to lose as well.
Marko Nadin
The Vegas Golden Knights are ninth in the Western Conference with a 42-31-5 record and are still in the playoff race even though they have 4 points less than the Dallas Stars with four games left to play in the regular season. The Golden Knights haven’t played well recently as they have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 3-4 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. Vegas is 13th in the league with 3.2 goals per game and 15th allowing 3 goals per game. They have won 7 of the last 9 home games.
The San Jose Sharks are 12th in the Western Conference with a 31-35-12 record. They are coming off a 4-1 win over the Chicago Bulls which was their only second win in the last 13 games. The Sharks are ranked 30th in the league with 2.6 goals per game and 20th with 3.1 allowed goals per game. The Sharks have lost 43 of the last 64 games against Western Conference rivals, 35 of the last 51 road games and 24 of the last 31 games played without a day off.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-345)
Tony Battalio
The San Jose Sharks have had a miserable season this year as they come into this one towards the bottom of the National Hockey League standings. San Jose started off the season decent but a lengthy losing streak knocked them out of Stanley Cup playoff contention weeks ago. San Jose comes into this one with a record of 31-35-12 through their first 78 games of the regular season. They are currently on a one game winning streak after beating the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game.
The Vegas Golden Knights season started out great but the wheels fell off. Now they come into this game with a record of 42-31-5 through their first 78 games of the regular season. Now with only four games remaining in the regular season they find themselves still in playoff contention as they are currently in fourth place in the Pacific Division. They currently trail the Los Angeles Kings for third and the Dallas Stars for the second Wild Card spot in the west. As for the result of this one, I am taking Vegas to get the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-345)
Jeffery Thomas
Pacific Division tilt on tap for Sunday when the San Jose Sharks travel to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. This is the third meeting between these two teams this season, with Vegas winning both meetings by a combined score of 7-2. San Jose will come into this one on the back-to-back after beating the Blackhawks 4-1 at home on Saturday. Vegas has been off since Wednesday, when they beat the Washington Capitals in overtime 4-3. Entering Saturday’s action, Vegas was still 2 points out of the playoffs with the possibility of that going up to 4 points with the Dallas Stars in action.
Both of the meetings between these teams went under the total of 5.5 so I think we’re getting a gift with the total opening up at 6.5. Vegas’ offense has been very inconsistent all season and San Jose is just bad and hasn’t scored more than 1 goal in this matchup. I think we’ll see a dominant defensive performance from the Knights in this one to keep the total under and I also like a play on the Knights to win if you want to pick a side.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Under 6.5 (-112)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
