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.
Edmonton Oilers @ Carolina Hurricanes – 1.00PM ET
The first game on Sunday’s slate in the NHL will see the Edmonton Oilers take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers are playing on back-to-back nights, and on Saturday night they got the all important win over the Panthers, 4-3. The Hurricanes will be looking to build on their four game winning streak this afternoon, as they have wins over the Predators, Penguins, Flyers and Blue Jackets.
Marko Nadin
The Carolina Hurricanes have climbed on top of the Eastern Conference with a 36-11-4 record. They have won the last 4 games scoring at least 4 goals in each of them. They defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 in their last game. Carolina is the top defensive team in the league, ranked first with 2.4 allowed goals per game and 90 PP% and ranked second with 28.7 allowed shots on goal per game. Carolina has won 4 of the last 5 games against Edmonton including a 3-1 win earlier this season. Carolina has won 9 of the last 13 games played on Sunday.
The Edmonton Oilers are 8th in the Western Conference with a 29-20-3 record. They have won 6 of the last 8 games and are coming off a 4-3 road win over the Florida Panthers which helped Carolina get on top of the East. Edmonton is ranked 9th in the NHL with 3.3 goals and 33.5 shots on goal per game and second with 27.2 PP%. The Oilers have won 5 of their last 6 road games but only 5 of the last 16 against Eastern Conference teams. Edmonton has played over the total goals margin in 12 of the last 17 Sunday games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes
Tony Battalio
This one is going to be the best game of the day as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Edmonton had a slow start to the season but have certainly turned up their level of play as of late. They now come into this game with a record of 29-20-3 through their first 52 games on the season. With exactly 30 games to go, the Edmonton Oilers are in playoff contention as they currently sit in fourth place in the Pacific Division, just one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place. If they can get into the postseason they will be a serious threat.
Roughed them up 😤 pic.twitter.com/8bYS6L4uJf
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 26, 2022
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming into this game as one of the best teams in the National Hockey League so far this season. They are one of the top favorites in the Eastern Conference and they look like a real threat to win a Stanley Cup trophy. They come into this game with a record of 36-11-4 through their first 51 games on the season. They are in first place in the Metropolitan Division, as they hold a four point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins with 3 games in hand. As for the result of this game however, I have them losing to the Edmonton Oilers at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers
Jeffery Thomas
Two days ago, you could have looked at the next two game stretch for the Oilers and wondered how they’d get any points out of it. Well they got through step one with 2 points in a victory over the mighty Florida Panthers who are searching for that home ice magic they had early in the season. Derek Ryan got his first career hat trick in the game Saturday afternoon to help the Oilers snap a two game losing streak. He’s the oldest Oiler player to ever record a hat trick at the age of 35. They are now 6-2 under new coach Jay Woodcroft and clinging on to the second wild card spot in the West. The Hurricanes won’t have to worry about the wild card race, as their 76 points is second most in the league and they lead the Penguins by four points in the Metro.
After a 1-4 start to February, they are rolling with four straight wins. They’ve scored at least 4 goals in each of those games and are coming off a shutout win over Columbus. Even against Carolina’s stellar defense, I think Edmonton will be able to build on their recent performances and create plenty of chances on offense. The Oilers’ goaltending problems will be the reason for their demise in this game, if they do end up losing. I see this as a toss up game though, especially after seeing how well Edmonton handled the Panthers and there should be a good amount of goals scored. I like the over in this game as defense may be optional for the Oilers with their tired legs, and McDavid and Draisaitl should feast like always.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Over
St. Louis Blues @ Chicago Blackhawks – 3.00PM ET
We have a clash between two Central Division rivals, when the St. Louis Blues travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The Blues have won five of their last six games, including their last three in a row, and this takes their season record to 31-14-6. The Blackhawks managed to snap their three game losing streak last time out, with a win over the Devils, 8-5.
Marko Nadin
The Chicago Blackhawks are having their worst season in the past couple of years as they are 14th in the Western Conference with a 19-26-8 record. The Blackhawks were on a three-game losing streak before defeating New Jersey 8-5 in their last game. Chicago is the third-worst team in the league scoring only 2.5 goals per game. The Blackhawks have won only 1 of their last 8 home games and have won 2 of the last 2 after two-day rest. They have played under the total goals margin in 5 of the last 6 games against Western Conference opponents.
The St. Louis Blues are second in the Western Conference with a 31-14-6 record and stand 12 points behind the leading Colorado Avalanche. The Blues have won the last 3 games and 4 of the last 6, and are coming off a 5-3 win over Buffalo. They have won 6 of the last 7 games against Chicago including a 5-1 win two weeks ago. The Blues have won 9 of the last 11 games against a conference rival and 5 of the last 7 road games. They have played under the total goals margin in 5 of the last 7 games as road favorites.
Marko’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues
Tony Battalio
The St. Louis Blues have been playing much better during the second half of the season as they are currently the second best team in the Western Conference. Through their first 51 games of the season, the Blues are 11 games above .500 with a record of 31-14-6 on the year, which is also good for second place in the Central Division as well. The Blues have all the tools to make a run deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. They are currently on a three game winning streak and have won four of their last five games.
IT’S A DOUBLE ̶R̶A̶I̶N̶B̶O̶W̶ HAT TRICK 🤯 pic.twitter.com/twQriOn5aH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 26, 2022
The Chicago Blackhawks had an incredibly rough start to the 2021-22 season. They have slowly recovered as the year has gone on, but it may be too little too late for the Blackhawks this season. They come into this game with a record of 19-26-8 as they are 15 games below the .500 mark through their first 53 games of the season. With less than 30 games to go on the year, the Blackhawks are currently in seventh place in the Central Division as they are virtually eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs at this point. As for the result of this game, I have the Blues getting their fourth win in a row.
Tony’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues
Jeffery Thomas
The Chicago Blackhawks will look to record back-to-back home wins when they face the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Prior to their 8-5 win over the Devils at home, they had lost seven straight (0-6-1) at the United Center. Patrick Kane and Brandon Hagel both got hat tricks in the victory and goalie Kevin Lankinen earned the win in his return from injury. Kane now has 17 points in his last 11 games and will look to keep the momentum going against a Blues team that is on a five-game point streak (4-0-1). The Blues are in the middle of a stretch with eight of nine games on the road.
They went 3-0-1 in those first four away games, then beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 in their stopover at home on Friday night. Winger Jordan Kyrou got back on track with two goals and an assist, after just one goal in the first 6 games since the All-Star break. The Blues have been looking more and more like the team they were expected to be recently and a game against an inferior opponent like Chicago will highlight that once again. Their goaltending has been superb and the offense is clicking on all cylinders, and they’re just flat out dangerous right now. Even on the road I think St. Louis gets this one wrapped up in 60 minutes.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 6.00PM ET
The Pittsburgh Penguins kick off their three game road trip with a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins are playing on back-to-back days, and last time out they went up against the Rangers, in a game they won, 1-0. The Blue Jackets had their four game losing streak broken last time out, courtesy of the Hurricanes, 0-4.
Marko Nadin
The Columbus Blue Jackets are 9th in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24-1 record and are 9 points shy of the Boston Bruins who sit in the last spot that heads into the postseason. Columbus is second-worst in the league 3.6 allowed goals per game and are at the bottom with 35.7 shots on goal. The Blue Jackets have won the last 5 games playing after 1 day rest but have won only twice in the last 10 games as home underdog. Columbus has played over the total point margin in 18 of the last 26 home games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are 4th in the Eastern Conference with a 32-14-8 record. After losing three straight games, Pittsburgh snapped the losing streak with a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers. Pittsburgh has the 4th best defense in the league allowing 2.7 goals per game. The Penguins have won 6 of the last 10 games against Columbus and will do that again on Sunday evening. Pittsburgh has won 4 of the last 5 games against teams with a winning record and has played over the total goals margin in 20 of the last 26 games in Columbus
Marko’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins
Tony Battalio
The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing the second half of a back to back in this one. In the first game of the back to back they took on the New York Rangers at home. They picked up a 1-0 victory over a tough Rangers team. Pittsburgh now has a record of 32-14-8 through their first 54 games of the season. They are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division. The win helped shake off a bad loss to the New Jersey Devils from a previous game, and now they will look to make it two straight against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road.
Carter on goalie matchup: “Jars made some huge saves for us. He was a huge part of our win. On the flip side, it’s not a lot of fun going against Shesterkin – he’s a heck of a goalie… We really had to battle and we’re lucky to get one in.” pic.twitter.com/DU1OEosuPB
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 26, 2022
The Columbus Blue Jackets recent hot streak may have been cooled off a bit with their 0-4 blowout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Now they come into this one getting ready to play their third game in the last four days, in what has been a very rough stretch of games that included the Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Carolina Hurricanes. They come into this game with a record of 27-24-1 through their first 52 games of the season. As for the result of this one, I have the Columbus Blue Jackets getting right back in the winners column with a win at home over the Penguins.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets
Jeffery Thomas
The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to cap off a very impressive month of February with another upset win. They’ve amassed a 7-2 record this month with wins over the Capitals, Panthers, and Maple Leafs. They did suffer a setback in the last game however, a 0-4 defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes. That loss ended a four-game winning streak as their offense surprisingly ran into a brick wall. During the winning streak, they had averaged 6 goals a game, so it was hard to see a shutout coming, but Carolina was ready for the task of shutting down Columbus. Pittsburgh could also be ready for the task, especially coming off a shutout victory of their own on Saturday against the Rangers. Tristan Jarry turned away 27 shots in his duel against Igor, as the Pens got the home victory 1-0.
It was Jarry’s fourth shutout this season and eleventh of his career, and a huge bounce back after being pulled in their last game. Evgeni Malkin scored the only goal of the game on a power play, 5:09 into the third period. That win snapped a three-game losing streak and slipped Pittsburgh right back ahead of the Rangers for 2nd place in the Metro. This is the Penguins third game in four days so fatigue may be a factor, and in fact they haven’t played well in those situations as of late. Also with this one being on the road, a lot of things aren’t in their favor in this spot. That slight hiccup the CBJ suffered in their last game could be them coming back down to reality but I’m going to chalk it up to just an off night and I think they right the ship in this one and at least keep it within a goal.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets +1.5
Vancouver Canucks @ New York Rangers – 7.30PM ET
The Vancouver Canucks kick off a four game road trip on Sunday night, and their first stop is New York to take on the Rangers. The Canucks are currently on a two game winning streak, including a win last time out that spoiled the mammoth winning streak for the Flames, as the Canucks dominated, winning 7-1. The Rangers are another team that are playing two days in a row, and in their Saturday game they lost to the Penguins, 0-1.
Marko Nadin
The New York Rangers are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-14-5 record. After winning back-to-back games over Ottawa and Washington allowing only one goal per game, they did the same in their last game with the Pittsburgh Penguins but this time that wasn’t enough for the win as Penguins won 0-1. The Rangers have won 8 of the last 9 games played on Sunday. They have played under the total goals margin in 6 of the last 7 games. All five last meetings between these two teams have finished under total goals margin.
The Vancouver Canucks are 11th in the Western Conference with a 25-22-6 record. They still have chances to reach a playoff berth especially if they play well as they have lately. The Canucks have won 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 7-1 win over Calgary, which was the Flames’ first loss after 10 consecutive wins. The Canucks have won the last 4 games against the Rangers, most recently 3-2 in overtime in November last year. Vancouver has won 5 of the last 7 road games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers
Tony Battalio
The Vancouver Canucks come into this game with a record of 25-22-6 through their first 53 games of the season. They have had an up and down year but they have certainly improved off of last year’s performance and this Vancouver team seems to be trending in the right direction. However, they are still seemingly a year or two away from being able to compete at the top level of the National Hockey League. They come into this game sitting in sixth place in the Pacific Division, as they are very well within playoff range due to the weakness of the division, they would just need to get hot at the right time.
“I thought it was a hard-working game for both teams.”
Coach Gallant: https://t.co/Gum6JClJ4k
Troubs + Goody: https://t.co/NWM6fkp3FV pic.twitter.com/e3o7K54zMd— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 26, 2022
The New York Rangers have been one of the biggest surprises of the entire National Hockey League season. As they come into this game with a record of 33-14-5 through their first 52 games of the season. New York is currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division, only five points behind the leaders, the Carolina Hurricanes. New York will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one after dropping a game to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon. As for the result of this one, I have the Rangers getting right back into the winners column with a victory over the Canucks at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers
Jeffery Thomas
The New York Rangers will come into this one on the back-to-back after a shutout loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. They’ll now regroup and start a three-game homestand at Madison Square Garden, where they’ve won 4 of their last 5. Both of New York’s losses in the month of February were by one goal, so they’re battling and in every game they’ve been playing lately so expect that to continue on Sunday against Vancouver. The Canucks capped off a three-game homestand with a pummeling of the red-hot Calgary Flames 7-1 on Thursday. JT Miller scored on a penalty shot and finished with two goals and two assists.
It was a full team effort as Elias Pettersson had two goals and an assist, Bo Horvat scored twice and Conor Garland added a goal for Vancouver. Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser, who was playing in his 300th career game, each had two assists. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in what was his 22nd victory on the season. The Rangers have been playing some great hockey despite the loss on Saturday. One positive that can be taken away is the one goal allowed which has been a staple for them and their great defense. They are 5-2 in their last seven games on no rest and back at home this is a great spot to get back on track. Give me the Rangers.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers
New York Islanders @ Anaheim Ducks – 8.30PM ET
The road trip continues on for the New York Islanders, who will face off against the Anaheim Ducks tonight. The Islanders will be on the back end of a tough back-to-back, after playing the Kings late last night, in a game they lost 2-5. The Ducks have lost five of their last seven games, and this takes their season record to 25-20-9.
Marko Nadin
These two teams will meet for the first time since December 2019. The Anaheim Ducks are 10th in the Western Conference with a 25-20-9 record. They have lost 5 of the last 7 games including a 1-4 loss against the Los Angeles Kings in their last game. Anaheim has won 5 of the last 6 games against the New York Islanders. Anaheim has won 12 of the last 16 games as a favorite and 15 of the last 20 games against teams with a losing record. The Ducks have played over the total goals margin in 5 of the last 6 games.
The New York Islanders are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-24-6 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Despite the standings, the Islanders are the fifth-best team in the league allowing only 2.7 goals per game. The Islanders have lost 19 of the last 26 games as underdogs and 4 of the last 5 road games. They have lost 7 of the last 8 games playing without a day off and the last 6 played on Sunday.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks
Tony Battalio
The New York Islanders will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back they took on the Los Angeles Kings. The Islanders would go on to lose that game by a three goal margin as their stressful season continues. They now come into this game against the Ducks with a record of 19-21-8 through their first 48 games of the year. They sit towards the bottom of the Metropolitan Division as their Stanley Cup playoff hopes fade even more with each passing game.
“I think we just didn’t have the compete level and intensity that we needed.” Kevin Shattenkirk and Coach Eakins spoke following our game. #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/BcaYWLBBBK
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) February 26, 2022
The Anaheim Ducks come into this game with a record of 25-20-9 on the season. They are currently sitting in fifth place in the Pacific Division. However, despite their losing record they aren’t too far off from getting themselves back into playoff position due to the weakness of the Pacific Division this season. Anaheim has had an up and down season all year long as they have gone through lengthy winning and losing streaks both. They are currently going through one of their down periods at the moment as they have lost five of their last seven games on the season. As for the result of this one however, I do have them getting the win over the Islanders.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks
Jeffery Thomas
The homestand will continue for the Ducks following a 1-4 loss to the Kings on Friday. As the season goes on, and the Ducks continue to fall down the standings, their home-ice advantage will continue to dwindle, which was an issue in the Kings game, which felt like it was mostly an Los Angeles crowd. They’ve been in horrible form losing five of their last seven games, and the main reason for that slide is goalie John Gibson’s play. He’s given up at least 4 goals in every start since the break, going 1-4 with a brutal .820 save percentage.
The Islanders will try to bounce back after falling to the Los Angeles Kings 2-5 on Saturday night. That is their second straight loss and they’ll try to cap off February with a win, something they’ve only done 4 times this month. With a record of 19-21-8 and 46 points, the Islanders occupy the 6th place spot in the Metro Division. There’s no way I can back the Ducks with Gibson in net and with this line opening up as a pick ’em, all of the value is on the Islanders. This is a good spot for the Isles to try and get their season turned around.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Islanders
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
