We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move past the mid way point in the season, each division’s ladder has already become well formed. Despite this, 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.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 1.00PM ET
The Carolina Hurricanes kick off a short two game road trip on Sunday night when they travel to Pittsburgh and take on the Penguins. The Hurricanes have been a little inconsistent of late, but they did get the win last time out, 5-3, over the Predators. The Penguins had their four game winning streak snapped, thanks to the Maple Leafs, 1-4.
Marko Nadin
The Pittsburgh Penguins have climbed to fourth place in the Eastern Conference winning 4 of the last 5 games. They are coming off a 1-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and are currently with a 31-12-8 record. The Penguins have scored at least 3 goals in 5 of their last 10 games. They are 10th in the league with 3.3 goals per game and have the sixth-best defense allowing only 2.6 goals per game. Pittsburgh has won the last 7 games after a two-day rest. They have won 21 of the last 28 games. The Penguins have played over the total goals margin in 7 of the last 10 games as a home favorite.
The Carolina Hurricanes are second in the Eastern Conference with a 33-11-4 record and are only 3 points shy from the leading Florida Panthers. After losing two straight games against Minnesota and Florida, the Hurricanes have won the last one 5-3 against Nashville. Carolina is sixth in the league in goals per game with 3.5 and second in goals allowed with 2.4. They have won 18 of the last 26 games and have played over the total goals margin in 8 of the last 10 games against teams with winning records.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Under 6 (-115)
Post-retirement plans? pic.twitter.com/pthQDfAam4
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 19, 2022
Tony Battalio
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season. They are coming into this game with a record of 33-11-4 through their first 48 games of the season. They are one of the top favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season and it may be fair to say they are the best team in the Eastern Conference as well. They are currently in first place in the Metropolitan Division but will need a win in this one to remain as they are taking on the team that is right behind them in the standings. Carolina is currently on a one game winning streak after beating Nashville in their last game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been playing well this season, which has been to the surprise of many people, as nobody expected them to look this good at this point in the season. The Penguins come into this game with a record of 31-12-8 on the season as they are just behind Carolina for the lead in the Metropolitan Division. They will look to reclaim the win with a big home win in this one, as they look to keep themselves in the Stanley Cup conversation as the second half of the season progresses. As for the result of this game, I have the Penguins picking up the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins (-125)
Florida Panthers @ Chicago Blackhawks – 3.00PM ET
The Florida Panthers wrap up their five game road trip on Sunday night when they go toe-to-toe with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Panthers have gone 3-1-0 so far in this trip, and have won six of their last seven games. The Blackhawks suffered a heartbreaking defeat last time out, as they went down to the Stars, 0-1, in a shootout.
Marko Nadin
The Florida Panthers are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 34-10-5 record and will use the opportunity to win against the Blackhawks to extend their lead. Florida has won 8 of the last 10 games losing only to Seattle and New York Islanders in that span. They have won the last two on the road against Minnesota and Carolina, who are among the top 5 teams in the league. The Panthers are the best team in the league with 4.1 goals and 36.5 shots on goal per game. They have won 7 of the last 10 games against Chicago.
The Chicago Blackhawks are 14th in the Western Conference with a 18-25-8 record. They have lost 3 of the last 4 games, most recently 0-1 to Dallas in a shootout. The Blackhawks are ranked 30th in the league with 2.4 goals and 28.6 shots on goal per game. Despite their bad record, the Blackhawks have won 4 of the last 5 games against Eastern Conference opponents. Anyway, they have won only 3 of the last 13 games overall. Chicago has lost the last 6 games as home underdog.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-235)
Heartbreaker 💔 pic.twitter.com/x3N0NC20oK
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 19, 2022
Tony Battalio
Florida has been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season as well. They come into this game with a record of 34-10-5 as they are 19 games above .500 through their first 49 games of the season. They are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season and dethrone their fellow in-state rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning and stop them from winning their third straight championship. They have won their last two games in a row after picking up wins over Minnesota and Carolina. They have also won four of their last five games.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough start to the season and while they have improved as the year progressed, it has still felt like a lost season for the Blackhawks. They come into this game with a record of 18-25-8 through their first 51 games of the season. Unless a miracle occurs however, I don’t see the Chicago Blackhawks fighting their way back into the playoffs this season, as they should likely use the rest of this season to develop young players and scan their roster. As for the result of this game, I have the Florida Panthers getting the victory on the road over Chicago.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-235)
New York Rangers @ Ottawa Senators – 5.00PM ET
The New York Rangers just have one game on the road, before returning home again, and on Sunday night they take on the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers had their three game winning streak snapped last time out, as they went down to the Red Wings, 2-3, in a shootout. The Senators are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they lost 2-3, in overtime to the Bruins.
Marko Nadin
The Ottawa Senators are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 18-25-5 record. They have lost 4 of the last 6 games, and 5 of those have finished under 5.5 goals. Ottawa scores 2.7 goals per game while allowing 3.2. They have won 3 of the last 5 and 6 of the last 10 games against the New York Rangers. The Senators have won 6 of the last 8 Sunday games but have lost 15 of their last 22 home games. In 9 of their last 11 games they have finished under the total goals margin. The visitor has won 4 of the last 5 games between the Senators and the Rangers.
The New York Rangers are currently 6th in the Eastern Conference with a 31-13-5 record. After winning three straight games, they lost 2-3 in overtime to Detroit in the last one. The Rangers are the third best team in the league with 2.5 allowed goals per game and 8th with 83.1 PP%. They have won 7 of their last 8 Sunday games. New York has won 19 of the last 26 against an Eastern Conference opponent and 25 of the last 37 overall. The favorite has won 6 of the last 8 games between these two teams.
Marko’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-230)
“It’s a ton of fun. It’s a competitive, hard league, and it’s been fun learning each day how to play in it.”
Schneids on his transition: https://t.co/YVvxpTmgTG
Stromer: https://t.co/QYBRAwUIpd
Coach Gallant: https://t.co/kolVn9kRCQ pic.twitter.com/oFiXaLzHEZ— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 19, 2022
Tony Battalio
The New York Rangers have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2021-22 National Hockey League season as they have raced out to an impressive record. They come into this game with a record of 31-13-5 as they are 13 games above the .500 mark through their first 49 games of the season. They are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division after spending parts of the season on top of the division. They will be looking to reclaim the lead in the Metropolitan as the second half of the season gets underway and they are only a couple games out of first behind Pittsburgh.
The Ottawa Senators have been pretty bad this season. They come into this game with a record of 18-25-5 as they are double digit games below the .500 mark at the moment. They are towards the bottom of the standings in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. They are already virtually eliminated from the 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs. So they will be looking to play spoiler during the second half of the season. As for the result of this game however, I have the New York Rangers picking up the easy victory over the Ottawa Senators on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-230)
Vegas Golden Knights @ San Jose Sharks – 8.00PM ET
The Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks, both from the Pacific Division, will face off on Sunday night in the NHL. The Golden Knights will be looking to get back on track, after dropping their last three games to the Flames, Avalanche and Kings. The Sharks are another team that will be desperate for a win, as they have lost their last five in a row, which drops their season record to 22-21-5.
Marko Nadin
The San Jose Sharks are one of the biggest disappointments this season in the NHL as they are 13th in the Western Conference with a 22-21-5 record. They have lost the last 5 games, three of them in overtime. The Sharks are ranked 23rd in the league with 2.7 goals and 29.6 shots on goal per game. San Jose has lost 13 of the last 16 games as a home underdog and 35 of the last 51 against teams with a winning record. In 10 of the last 14 games, San Jose have finished under the total goals margin.
The Vegas Golden Knights are going through their most difficult part of the season as they have lost the last three games, two of them without even scoring a goal. Things will change against San Jose as the Golden Knights have won the last 9 against the Sharks. Vegas has won 9 of their last 12 road games but have won only once in their last 7 games against Western Conference opponents. Vegas has won 10 of the last 11 games when their opponent allows 5 goals or more in their previous game
Marko’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-162)
.@Burnzie88 knows how to make an entrance 🥶 pic.twitter.com/GIz0JW1njO
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 19, 2022
Tony Battalio
The Vegas Golden Knights come into this game sitting in second place in the Pacific Division. They led the division for most of the season before recently being surpassed by the Calgary Flames who have been the hottest team in hockey the past couple of weeks. Now Vegas will be looking to reclaim first place in the division as the second half of the season gets underway and teams really start to make their push for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Vegas is currently 28-18-4 through their first 50 games of the season.
The San Jose Sharks have completely fallen apart as of late. They come into this game with a record of 22-21-5 on the season. They have lost their last five games in a row and seven of their last eight on the season. They are currently 4 games below .500 through their first 48 games of the season as they will be looking to recover with a victory in this one at home over the Golden Knights. San Jose is currently in seventh place in the weakest division in the NHL, which is the only thing keeping their playoff hopes alive at the moment. As for the result of this game, I have them losing their sixth straight game as I have Vegas winning.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-162)
Minnesota Wild @ Edmonton Oilers – 10.00PM ET
The final game on Sunday night’s slate in the NHL will see the Minnesota Wild travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers. The Wild have lost their last two games in a row, against the Jets and Panthers, being outscored 5-12, during those two games. The Oilers are another team playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they took their winning streak to five in a row, after defeating the Jets, 4-2.
Marko Nadin
The Edmonton Oilers are 7th in the Western Conference with a 28-18-3 record. They have won the last 5 games scoring 4.4 goals per game. Edmonton is among the top 10 teams in the league with 3.3 goals, 33.8 shots on goal and 26.1 PP% per game. They have won 17 of the last 25 games without a day off. They have lost 6 of the last 7 games against teams with a winning record over 60%. They have played under the total goals margin in 5 of the last 7 games.
The Minnesota Wild are second in the Western Conference with a 30-13-3 record. They were on a 8-2 run before losing the last two games against Winnipeg and Florida allowing 6 goals in both of those matchups. Minnesota is the third best team in the league with 3.7 goals per game. The Wild have won 10 of the last 14 games against teams with a winning record. Minnesota has won the last four games against Edmonton and has played over the total goals margin in 14 of the last 16 games following a one day rest.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-111)
WWWWWinnipeg. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/J1pKyF3LOp
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 20, 2022
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Wild were at one time the best team in the National Hockey League. Now they come into this game with a record of 30-13-3 as they are 14 games above the .500 mark through their first 46 games of the season. They are still in a great position to make a deep run to the Stanley Cup Finals as they have all the tools to be successful in the postseason and the remainder of the regular season. Minnesota is currently on a two game losing streak that they will be looking to recover from in this one, as they line up across from the Edmonton Oilers.
The previously mentioned Edmonton Oilers come into this game with a record of 28-18-3 as they are 7 games above .500 through their first 49 games of the season. They have more than enough talent to win the Stanley Cup this season but haven’t quite performed up to expectations until recently. They have been on a hot streak as of late as they have picked up victories in each of their last five games. They have quickly climbed up the ladder in the Pacific Division as they are now in third place and only three points off the lead. As for the result of this game, I have Edmonton picking up another victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-108)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
