Free NHL Picks Today for Sunday, December 17th, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Sunday, December 17th 2023! Make sure you check our NHL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NHL picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Vancouver Canucks @ Chicago Blackhawks – 3PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a quality start to the regular season for the Vancouver Canucks and they will look to get back into the win column with a quality performance here on Sunday afternoon on the road south of the border in Chicago. It was a long rebuilding process for Vancouver, but they are finally starting to show signs of it paying off throughout the early part of the regular season. They will look to maintain that momentum throughout this game on Sunday afternoon in the windy city as they look to add another victory to their record and head into the back half of December on a positive note. Vancouver comes into this game with 20 victories through their first 31 games of the regular season, but they will be looking to bounce back after losing the Minnesota Wild in their previous game. The lost Minnesota snapped a win streak for Vancouver and they will look to get right back on track with a quality performance here on Sunday afternoon in Chicago.

Despite the emergence of number one overall draft selection Connor Bedard it has been a long season for the Chicago Blackhawks. Unless something turns around for them rather quickly throughout the middle part of the regular season it seems likely that they will finish as one of the worst teams in the league yet again. However, it would allow them to get another high draft selection and add another key piece in this rebuilding process, as they look to return to being one of the top teams in the league. Chicago comes into this game with 20 losses through their first 29 games of the regular season and they will look to finally break into the double digit win club with a quality performance here on Sunday afternoon at home against Vancouver. They have been dreadful on both ends of the ice as they are only scoring around two goals per game and giving up about four goals per game which is not sustainable for success this season. I don’t look for a delete any type of success throughout this game either as I look for Vancouver to pick up the win on the road here on Sunday.

Washington Capitals @ Carolina Hurricanes – 6PM ET

Tony Battalio

Washington has been hovering around the .500 mark through the majority of the regular season so far and they come into this game one game above .500 through their first 27 games of the season as well. They will look to pick up a solid victory down south in Carolina here on Sunday night as they look to get things rolling in the right direction throughout the rest of December. This is a Washington team that has plenty of potential as long as they can remain healthy and consistent throughout the year but that is something that they have struggled with coming into this game on Sunday night against Carolina. They will look to pick up a solid upset victory here in this one as they look to pick up a huge momentum boosting victory heading into the second half of the month of December, as they look to turn things around in 2024. Washington will be looking to build up a little bit of momentum as they come into this game with two consecutive losses on the road.

Carolina is having a solid start to the season and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday against Washington. They come into this game two games above .500 through their first 30 games of the regular season and they will look for their 17th victory of the year here on Sunday night at home. For the last several seasons, they have been a legitimate contender within the Eastern Conference, but they have yet to reach their ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup title in that span. They are hoping this season is the year that they finally change that narrative and they bring home a championship. As long as they can remain healthy and consistent throughout the season, they should be one of the favorites to go into the postseason and win the title this year. They come into this game after losing their previous game to the Nashville Predators by a score of 6 to 55 and overtime as they look to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice throughout this game. I expect them to bounce back in a big way and pick up the victory here in this one against Washington.

Anaheim Ducks @ New Jersey Devils – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It’s been a rough start to the regular season for the Anaheim Ducks, and they will look to get things going in the right direction with a victory here on Sunday night on the road in New Jersey. Anaheim has been stuck in a rebuilding process for the last several seasons, and as of right now there seems to be no end in sight for them as they look to be one of the worst teams in the league once again this season. Anaheim comes into this game nine games below the .500 mark through their first 29 games of the regular season and they will look for their 11th victory of the year here on Sunday night in New Jersey. It has been a rough season for them on both ends of the ice as they are scoring around two goals per game and giving up nearly four goals per game which is not sustainable for any type of success this season. They come into this game looking to snap a lengthy losing streak here in this one on Sunday night against the Devils as well.

The New Jersey Devils were off to a quality start this season before Jack Hughes went down with an injury that put them behind the eight ball and hampered their performance throughout the early part of the season. They will be looking to continue getting things back on track with a victory here on Sunday night at home against Anaheim as they look to get the momentum rolling in the right direction throughout the month of December. New Jersey comes into this game four games above the .500 mark through their first 28 games of the regular season and they will look to add another victory to the record with another quality performance here in this one. They have plenty of momentum coming into this game as they have picked up two victories in a row and four out of their last five as well and I expect them to get a third consecutive victory here on Sunday night. I also look for New Jersey to cover the spread in this game against Anaheim on Sunday as well.

San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

The San Jose Sharks have been one of the worst teams in the league throughout the last several seasons, and as of right now there seems to be no end in sight for their current rebuild. They are off to an awful start of the regular season, and they will look to get things back on track throughout the rest of December and it starts with grabbing a victory here on Sunday night on the road against Colorado. San Jose comes into this game with 21 losses through their first 30 games of the regular season and they look to get their 10th victory of the season here on Sunday night on the road in one of the toughest venues in the league. They have been dreadful on both ends of the ice throughout their first 30 games of the regular season and unless something changes rather quickly they will likely be out of playoff contention by the time February comes around. They come into this one as losers of two out of their last three and they will look for a victory here in this one to get back on track.

Colorado is off to a quality start of the regular season and they will look to keep that momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday night at home against San Jose. After being knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Seattle Kraken last year only a year after winning the Stanley Cup Finals, Colorado will look to establish themselves as a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup once again this season. They have done a solid job of that throughout the early part of the regular season as they come into this game as one of the best teams in the league throughout the first two months of the year. They come into this game six games above 500 through their first 30 games of the regular season and they will look to grab their 19th victory of the season here on Sunday night. They’ve been a very hard team to beat at home this season and I expect that to continue throughout this game on Sunday. As I look for them to pick up the win and cover the spread over San Jose.

Ottawa Senators @ Vegas Golden Knights – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a rough start to the regular season for the Ottawa Senators, but they will look to get things back on track with a victory on the road in Vegas against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Ottawa has been one of the worst teams in the league throughout the last couple of seasons, as they are still stuck in the middle of the rebuilding process. If the early part of this season is any indication of how that process will go they are a long way away from being a contending team once again. They will look to get the momentum rolling in the right direction with a victory here on Sunday night on the road in Las Vegas as they look for a huge momentum boost heading into the second half of December. Ottawa comes into this game three games below the .500 mark through their first 25 games of the regular season and they will look to grab their 12th victory of the season here on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are not experiencing any type of championship hangover throughout the early part of the regular season. They come into this game with 20 victories through their first 31 games of the regular season and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday night at home against the Ottawa Senators. They will further establish themselves as a legitimate contender to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup title with another quality performance here on Sunday night. They have been a very tough team to beat at home throughout the last several seasons, and they will look to maintain that narrative of another victory at home here in this one as well. Vegas comes into this game with 20 victories and they will look for their 21st victory of the season here in this game on Sunday and that is exactly what I expect as I look for them to pick up the win and cover the spread in the process.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.