We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move towards the mid way point in the season, each division’s ladder is starting to take shape. Every single win or loss can have a significant impact on where each team will finish at the end of the season, 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.
San Jose Sharks @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 6.00PM ET
The San Jose Sharks hit the road for the final time this trip when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sharks have won three of their previous four games, which brings their season record to 13-10-1. The Blue Jackets’ struggles have continued on in December, and they are currently on a four game losing streak, with losses to the Blues, Predators, Stars and Capitals.
Denis Kirilov
The Columbus Blue Jackets take on the San Jose Sharks in their Nationwide Arena on Sunday. The hosts have lost their last three away games, but at home they are more than convincing recently. They defeated the Red Wings, the Jets, and the Canucks, all in high fashion by two or more goals. The team’s goal this season will be to once again make the Playoffs, but with this fierce competition in the East, this task will be really hard to achieve. Moreover, with losses to teams like the Predators and the Stars, they won’t be able to do it. So, the Blue Jackets will definitely need to level up their game and especially their performance on the road.
The San Jose Sharks were off-balanced due to Covid-19 problems in November and that’s why they suffered a slight decline in their overall performance. However, they managed to bounce back with a couple of demanding wins lately. The distinguishing feature for the team in recent times was without a doubt their defense. They have conceded a total of 12 goals in their last 7 games in the NHL. Although they suffered a narrow 0-1 loss to the New York Rangers in their last match ahead of this meeting, I think they will be able to pull it through against the Blue Jackets. For me, they are the favorites to win the game tomorrow and my preferences go towards them.
Denis’ NHL Pick: San Jose Sharks (-118)
Tony Battalio
The San Jose Sharks are coming into this game with a record of 13-10-1 on the year. In their last game they fell to the New York Rangers by a single goal, however despite the loss they have won three of their last four games. San Jose is currently in fourth place in the Pacific Division. This game against the Columbus Blue Jackets will be the fifth and final game of a lengthy road trip which they have split 2-2 so far.
learning some hard lessons@pedialyte | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/7gnVBn6FZ1
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 5, 2021
The Columbus Blue Jackets had a surprisingly impressive start to the 2021-22 National Hockey League season. However in late November they started to cool off pretty rapidly. Their losing streak now stands at four after a loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. The losing streak had dropped their record down to 12-10-0 on the year. Now they will be looking to snap the streak and bounce back with a win in the second game of a back to back. As for the result of this game, I look for the Blue Jackets to pick up a home win and finally snap their losing streak.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets (-102)
Michael Lantz
The San Jose Sharks have shown some serious playoff hope this season, as they’re currently fourth in the Pacific Division and have gotten some big games out of their goalie tandem consisting of James Reimer and Adin Hill. On Sunday, they’ll face a Columbus Blue Jackets that has been exceeding expectations, but are currently on a four-game losing skid. They have missed forward Patrik Laine, who has been out the last month with injury, as their offense has struggled the past week only scoring three goals in total in the past three games. Columbus look to snap their losing streak at home against a Sharks team that has had some recent offensive woes themselves.
Aside from a 5-2 win last week against the New Jersey Devils, the Sharks have only scored five goals in their other four recent games. Luckily that great goalie duo got them wins in two of those games and have them sitting at 13-10-1 overall. I like the Sharks in this one as Columbus has struggled to score a bit more and won’t have it any easier against a Sharks defense playing at a pretty high level.
Michael’s NHL Pick: San Jose Sharks (-118)
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Philadelphia Flyers – 6.00PM ET
The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the middle of a decent road trip when they travel to Philadelphia and take on the Flyers. The Lightning have won both games so far in December, with wins against the Blues and Bruins. The Flyers will be playing at home for two games, and last time out they lost to the Rangers, 1-4, bringing their season record to 8-9-4.
Denis Kirilov
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers will face each other for a third time this campaign. The first two games have been won by the reigning champions. The opening match was as narrow as it gets, but the rematch was a one-sided affair in favor of the Lightning. Tampa also managed to erase a 2-goal deficit in the first game to clinch onto the final victory after penalties. The Lightning will surely be looking to make the Playoffs in order to be able to defend the title in the spring. The Flyers, on the other hand, had such ambitions, but things took a sharp turn for them since mid-November.
Ever since the first game against the Lightning, Philly is struggling to find its rhythm. They are on a 7-game losing streak ahead of their meeting in Wells Fargo Center and their performances suggest that this will be another tough, probably impossible, obstacle to overcome. Philadelphia also has issues with injuries as they can’t rely on crucial players like Derick Brassard, Ryan Ellis, and Nate Thompson. On the other hand, Kucherov, Seabrook, and Point are sidelined for a long time for the Lightning, but they have managed to compete successfully even without them. I think this will be a third consecutive victory for Tampa in their head-to-head matches.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-106)
Tony Battalio
The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up a big win in overtime over the Boston Bruins on the road on Saturday night. Now they will continue their road trip in the city of brotherly love against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second game of a back to back on Sunday. This game against Philadelphia will be their second game of a five lengthy five game road trip. After a slow start to the season, the Lightning have started to pick up the pace a bit as they come into this game with a record of 14-5-4. Tampa Bay has won back to back games now after opening the month of December up with a win over the Blues.
The Philadelphia Flyers come into this game with a record of 8-9-4 on the year. As they are struggling and well below the .500 mark through the season’s first 21 games. Their current struggles can be attributed to a horrendous seven game losing streak as they have lost eight of their last nine games. They will be opening up a quick 2 game home stand with this game against Tampa Bay. Philadelphia will also be wanting revenge after they lost to the Lightning twice this season, both of those came in the month of November. As for the result of this one, I look for the Tampa Bay Lightning to beat the Flyers for the third time, as Philadelphia’s struggles will continue.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-106)
Michael Lantz
After starting out the season looking like contenders, the Philadelphia Flyers have dropped seven games in a row and to 7th place in the Metropolitan Division. Things won’t get any easier for them on Sunday as they face a Tampa Bay Lightning that’s starting to look like contenders again.
After consecutive losses earlier last week, the Lightning fired back to win tight games against the Blues and Bruins. They’ll look to stay hungry as they go up against the lowly Flyers squad. These teams have already played twice this year, with Tampa Bay taking the cake both times. In the first matchup they won a tight 4-3 game and then they beat the Flyers 4-0, during this current skid. So, will bad things come in three for the Flyers or will third time be the charm? I think the Lightning will take their third straight win against this Flyers team.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-106)
Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers – 8.00PM ET
Two teams in the Pacific Division will face off against each other on Monday night. The Los Angeles Kings are currently sitting in sixth place, with 22 points, whereas the Edmonton Oilers are in second place, with 32 points. The Kings have won just one of their previous five games, and the Oilers have won three of their previous five.
Denis Kirilov
The Los Angeles Kings will have a really tough visit at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sunday night. The Oilers are on a 9-1 run at home and the thing that is more concerning is the fact that they are scoring an average of 4.2 goals so far in the matches in front of their crowd. They have only lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the last days of October in a match where Connor McDavid had 9 shots on goal, but scored just once. Edmonton is 3rd in the West with 32 points out of 22 games which puts them in a very comfortable position in early December.
The Los Angeles Kings, on the other hand, have been struggling a lot recently. There was a time this campaign when the Kings were in top 3 of the current standings, but their 1-7 run pulled them back to 12th place in the West. With only 22 points from the same number of matches, the team is not looking happy as they desperately need Drew Doughty, Alexander Edler, and Matt Roy to provide a fantastic defensive lineup that will be the backbone of the team. Anze Kopitar, Alex Iafallo, and Adrian Kempe are doing everything they can in front positions, but conceding early goals has become an annoying trait for the Kings. In my opinion, we will see a lot of goals in this match due to the imbalance in LA’s defense and the thirst for more goals from McDavid and Draisaitl. Hence, I will suggest picking the option for “over goals” in this electrifying meeting.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Over 6.5 (+100)
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Kings come into this game with a record of 9-9-4 on the season. They are currently on a two game losing streak and have lost seven of their last eight games to some subpar competition. They had a decent start to the season that has been thrown off course by an underwhelming month of November. Los Angeles will be looking to turn the tide in the final month of 2021, otherwise they may find themselves out of the playoff race by the time the new year comes around.
“We’re missing key guys on the back end but the new guys stepping in have done a great job.”
Bouchard checks in following his two-point night last night.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/NopNLXjSmC
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 4, 2021
The Edmonton Oilers have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season. It is easy when you have two of the best players in the entire league in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Both of them deserve serious Most Valuable Player consideration if they keep up this level of play that has gotten the Edmonton Oilers to 16-6-0 at this point of the year. As for the result of this game, I have the Oilers picking up the victory in this one and defending their home ice.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-230)
Michael Lantz
The Edmonton Oilers are coming off a tough road loss to the Seattle Kraken on Friday night, where they lost 3-4. That loss ended a nice little three game win streak for the Oilers as they’ll now head back to Edmonton where they are 9-1 and looking to bounce back. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings are trying to stay alive in the Western Conference playoff race, but they’re starting to slip with teams like the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks right on their heels.
While the Kings have had some positive play this year, they tend to struggle against teams with dynamic offenses. That’s not a great sign as they get ready to face off against an Oilers team that’s led by leading point scorers Leon Draisaitl and Conor McDavid and who have the best power play in hockey. I think they’ll be one of the easier ones to pick as the Oilers proven dominance at home and pure talent should put them on top in this one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-230)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Winnipeg Jets – 8.00PM ET
The Toronto Maple Leafs finish up their quick two game road trip in Winnipeg when they take on the Jets. The Maple Leafs were on a five game winning streak until last time out, when they lost to the Wild, 3-4, in a shootout. The Jets won in a high scoring affair last time out against the Devils, 8-4, which brings their season record to 11-8-4.
Denis Kirilov
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a fierce battle for the first place in the Eastern Conference including the Panthers, the Capitals, the Rangers, the Hurricanes, and the Lightning. All of these teams have escaped from the rest in the table and they will be looking to keep this fantastic form throughout the season. The Maple Leafs, themselves, are playing remarkably recently as they have won almost each game in November. They have also been quite dominant in their last couple of matches, defeating the Avalanche by 5 goals, the Kings and the Ducks by 4 goals, the Sharks and the Islanders by 3 goals. Auston Matthews is slowly finding his perfect form which is a great attestation for the deadly look of his whole team.
The Winnipeg Jets have managed to escape the void as they were on a 5-game losing streak where they have managed to score just 5 goals or a goal per game. The loss to the Coyotes raised a huge red flag for the team. However, with their 8-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils, they have once again proved they can score as Mark Scheifele dropped 3 goals, while Nikolaj Ehlers added two more. The 35-year-old Blake Wheeler, a Jets’ legend, shows that he still has a lot to give to his team as he will try to transfer his experience onto players like Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Jets are 11th in the West with 26 points out of 23 games, but they are just 2 points behind the 5th place which gives them even further inspiration. I think we might see a really narrow contest between these two highly motivated teams ending in a tie.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tie (+320)
Tony Battalio
The Toronto Maple Leafs come Into this game as one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League despite their shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Prior to the defeat, Tampa Bay was on a winning streak that spanned five games and they were victorious in ten of their previous eleven dating back to the middle of the month of November. Now they will wrap up this short two game road trip with a return to Canada against the Winnipeg Jets before kicking off a three game homestand on December 7th.
Opposite of the Maple Leafs, the previously mentioned Winnipeg Jets come into this game as one of the coldest teams in the National Hockey League this year. They currently possess a record of 11-8-4 through 23 games. They have gone 2-6 overall over their last eight games. They will be looking to capitalize on a big win over the New Jersey Devils with another home victory over Toronto here. This game against the Maple Leafs will be the third game of a four game homestand that will end with a visit from the Carolina Hurricanes on the 7th of December. As for the result of this game, I look for the Maple Leafs to get right back into the winners column with a victory in their second game of a back to back.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-102)
Michael Lantz
After going on a five-game win streak where they were dominant on both sides of the puck, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 3-4 to a Minnesota Wild team that has slowly but surely become a legit contender. They’ll look to go on another roll as they face a Winnipeg Jets team that’s been a bit unpredictable lately.
Toward the end of November, the Winnipeg Jets went on a five-game lost streak. Luckily, they turned it around with a huge win against the Calgary Flames in Calgary on 11/27. They then turned around from that strong victory—and loss to the awful Arizona Coyotes 0-1. But, after that sad loss, they got the slap in the face they needed on offense as they beat the Devils 8-4 on Friday night. They’ll need all of that offense to follow them into Sunday as they play a Maple Leafs team that has, this season’s early favorite Vezina Trophy winner, Jack Campbell. After Minnesota scored four goals, I can’t see Toronto having another off night defending their net, as they’ll bring this Jets offense off of cloud nine post their big Devils win.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-102)
Calgary Flames @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10.00PM ET
The Calgary Flames have two more games to wrap up their road trip, and tonight they will be playing against the Vegas Golden Knights, who start a four game homestand. The Flames have won three games in a row, with wins against the Penguins, Kings and Ducks, taking their season record to 15-4-5. The Golden Knights put in a clinic last time out against the Coyotes, winning 7-1, and this brings their season record to 13-10.
Denis Kirilov
The well-performing Calgary Flames will travel to Las Vegas in an attempt to keep their winning streak alive. They have won their last three games, all of which were tight contests. First of all, they had to overcome Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins which they managed to do after penalties. Later on, they faced the Los Angeles Kings in their first away game in December. The Flames took the win by a single goal after making a comeback. In their most recent meeting, Calgary dealt with the Anaheim Ducks on their home ice. After three quick goals in the 2nd period, they almost sealed the deal, but in the end, they had to go through the lottery of the penalty shootout in order to get the victory.
The Vegas Golden Knights, on the other hand, are slightly a different team this season as they have been missing most of their players due to several reasons and injury-related issues. This led to their inconsistency which gives them the 8th place in the Western Conference so far. Their inability to stop the best teams in the league was once again proved in November when they lost to the Hurricanes, the Blues, the Oilers, and the Maple Leafs. They might be quite dominant and convincing in the rest of their meetings, but at the end of the day, what matters most is the head-to-head matches with the direct rivals. Up until this moment, they seem to disappoint when it comes to this and I would once again trust the trend and go with the Calgary Flames in their visit to the Golden Knights.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (+108)
Tony Battalio
The Calgary Flames come into this game with a record of 15-4-5 on the season. They are currently on a three game winning streak, and have picked up victories in seven of their last eight games dating all the way back to the middle of the month of November. Calgary is currently in first place of the Pacific Division as they hold a three point lead over Edmonton and a nine point lead over their opponents in this one, the Vegas Golden Knights.
7️⃣ reasons to love these highlights 😍 pic.twitter.com/PEY78tu4vN
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 4, 2021
As for the previously mentioned Golden Knights, they are currently in 5th place in the Pacific Division. They come into this game with a record of 13-10 on the year. Vegas opened up the month of December with a loss to the Anaheim Ducks and then a victory over the Arizona Coyotes. The game against the Ducks ended in a 1 goal loss but the game against Arizona was a six goal blowout for the Golden Knights. As for the result of this game, I have the Calgary Flames picking up the win on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (+108)
Michael Lantz
In a battle of the NHL’s Pacific Division, the first place Calgary Flames travel to Vegas, to take on a Golden Knights team that’s finally getting healthy and looking to get back in the playoff hunt. With Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone back in the lineup the Golden Knights offense is taking off. They’ve scored 12 goals in their last two, including a 7-1 pounding of the Arizona Coyotes, who despite being pretty abysmal, had been showing positives on the defensive side.
The Knights are looking to continue that energy at home against a first-place Flames team that have big time scorers in Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. In addition to their highlight reel offense, they have one of the league’s top goalies in Jacob Markstrom. Even though Calgary is one of league’s most complete teams and a definite Stanley Cup contender, Vegas is relearning how to play together after all of their injuries. It looks like the offense is getting it going and I expect the defense to follow. .
Michael’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-130)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
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