Free NHL Picks Today for Sunday, January 2nd, 2022

Free NHL Picks Today for Sunday, January 2nd, 2022
Sun 2nd January 2022

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. 

Tampa Bay Lightning @ New York Rangers – 12.30PM ET

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers are playing their second of the back-to-back games. In the first game, it was the Rangers that managed to steal the win, 4-3, in a shootout. Can the Lightning bounce back with a win tonight, or will the Rangers make it two on the trot?

Denis Kirilov

The Tampa Bay Lightning will face the New York Rangers for the second time this season. They played against each other in their last match for 2021, won by the Rangers, 4-3 after penalties. This put the Lightning under a bit more pressure as this was their second loss in a row after getting dismantled by the Florida Panthers, 3-9. The team from Tampa will do its best to defend the title from last year, but there are plenty of contenders this campaign. However, so far, they are doing a fantastic job, sticking to the top 3 in the Eastern Conference with 47 points from 33 games. They will need to level up their game and to try to slip away from some of the teams that are really close to them.

The Rangers, on the other hand, are looking for their first Stanley Cup since 1993-94. It seems that they haven’t built the right team yet, but this season they have made a big statement to contest the top spot in their Metropolitan Division. However, they will need to get past the Hurricanes and the Capitals who are playing really strong these days. The Rangers have been quite hesitant in December, although closing a 7-0 run in the early days of the month. I think that we will see a similar meeting to the previous one, but this time the Lightning will come on top. 

Denis’ NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-106)

Tony Battalio

The two time defending Stanley Cup champions are coming into this game with a record of 21-7-5 on the season. After a somewhat slow start, Tampa Bay is finally starting to play like they were expected too. They seem to have their sights set firmly on three peating as the season is approaching its halfway point. Tampa Bay is currently in first place of the Atlantic Division and will be looking to extend their lead with a huge victory in this one against another Eastern Conference playoff contender, the New York Rangers. Tampa Bay will also be looking to break a two game losing streak in the process as well. 

The previously mentioned New York Rangers come into this game with a record of 20-8-4 on the year. They will be playing their second straight game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the last contest the Rangers came away with a hard fought 4-3 shootout win on the road. New York is currently in first place of the Atlantic Division, as they have exceeded expectations up until this point of the season. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up a second straight win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-113)

San Jose Sharks @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 1.00PM ET

The San Jose Sharks kick off a four game road trip on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks are currently on a two game winning streak, after beating the Coyotes, 8-7, in a shootout, and the Flyers, 3-2, in overtime. The Penguins will be playing their first game back, after having five games in a row postponed, their season record currently stands at 17-8-5.

Denis Kirilov

The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming strong into this game after recording 7 straight wins in December. They might have defeated some of the weakest teams in the NHL, but they also got the better of the Ducks and the Capitals. In their last match before the short COVID-19 break, the Penguins outplayed the New Jersey Devils in Prudential Center,3-2. This fantastic run helped them close the gap between them and the top 6. Now they are standing at 39 points, just a couple of points away from the mix that we have on the top of the table in the West.

The San Jose Sharks is a really odd team. They can defeat the opponent that is in its peak, but at the same time, they might suffer a huge upset against a team that hasn’t won in weeks. However, they are coming into this fixture with two straight wins. Both of them have been played after the break in the NHL and both of them exceeded regulation. These were their last two matches at home for a long time ahead as they now start a 4-game journey on the road. However, these wins were against one of the worst teams in the League at the moment – the Philadelphia Flyers and the Arizona Coyotes. I don’t think that’s a good benchmark for the Sharks. Hence, I will go with the Penguins closing out the game in regular time.  

Denis’ NHL Pick: Moneyline 3-way – Pittsburgh Penguins (-110)
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Tony Battalio

The San Jose Sharks are heading East for this one as they will meet the Pittsburgh Penguins. San Jose is coming into this game with a record of 17-14-1 on the year. They currently find themselves in fifth place in the Pacific Division as the season is approaching it’s halfway point. San Jose is currently on a two game winning streak after picking up victories against the Arizona Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers at home to end the year. Now they will be looking to make it a third straight win over the Penguins in this one on the road.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming into this game with a record of 17-8-5 on the season as they are five games above the .500 mark through their first 30 games of the year. Pittsburgh is currently in third place of the Metropolitan Division as they find themselves in a good spot in a crowded Eastern Conference. They are coming into this one on a seven game winning streak, as their last five games were postponed. As for the result of this game, I have the Penguins picking up the victory at home. 

Tony’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins (-176)

Anaheim Ducks @ Colorado Avalanche – 3.00PM ET

The Anaheim Ducks wrap up their quick two game road trip on Sunday when they take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Ducks are currently on a three game losing streak, which has dropped their season record to 17-10-7. The Avalanche will be playing their first game since mid-December, as they have had seven games in a row postponed, before all the postponements, they had won five of their last six games.

Denis Kirilov

The Anaheim Ducks will travel to Colorado on Sunday to face the favorites for the title this year, the Avalanche. The hosts were looking at a 5-game winning streak before losing to the Nashville Predators, 2-5. However, they are a couple of places behind their upcoming opponents in the current standings. This came as a result from the fact that they have only played 27 games compared to the Ducks’ 34 matches. On average, the Avalanche have the best record in the West which makes them even stronger. They also have the best attack in the whole NHL, scoring 4.26 goals per game. They have a total of five players with more than 10 goals this season – Nazem Kadri, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Andre Burakovsky, and Valeri Nichushkin. However, some of them will miss the game due to COVID-19.

The Anaheim Ducks have managed to surprise everyone with their pre-Christmas performance. This put them in the top spot in the West for a couple of days. They are now 4th with 41 points from 34 matches as this was a result from their 3-game losing streak. The Ducks lost to the Coyotes, the Canucks, and the Golden Knights in their last meetings in the NHL. The Golden Knights, for example, smashed them as they had 45 shots on goal, compared to the Ducks’ 16 shots on goal for the entire match. I think that their form will continue going downhill as the Avalanche will also be able to take advantage of that. My prediction here goes in favor of the team from Colorado as I expect them to win by at least 2 goals. 

Denis’ NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (-110)

Tony Battalio

The Anaheim Ducks are coming into this game with a record of 17-10-7 on the season. It has truly been an up and down season for the Ducks as they have had a lengthy winning streak in the month of November, however it didn’t help them much as they have been average over the course of the rest of the year. They are currently on a three game losing streak as they hit the road for this game. They will be desperate for a victory to get things going in the right direction again. Anaheim currently find themselves in second place of what has been a surprisingly weak Pacific Division. 

After having a five game winning streak snapped in their last game against the Nashville Predators, the Colorado Avalanche will be looking to bounce back in a big way. Colorado was the preseason Stanley Cup favorites, however they haven’t quite lived up to the expectations of that yet. However, as for the result of this game, I have the Colorado Avalanche picking up the victory at home in this game over the Ducks to start the new year. Colorado currently find themselves in fourth place of the Central Division and will likely climb up the standings with a win in this one.

Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-300)

New Jersey Devils @ Washington Capitals – 3.00PM ET

Two Metropolitan Division rivals go head to head on Sunday afternoon, with the New Jersey Devils taking on the Washington Capitals. The Devils are currently on a two game winning streak, after defeating the Sabres, 4-3, and Oilers, 6-5, in overtime. The Capitals are also on a two game winning streak, which lifts their season record to 20-6-7.

Denis Kirilov

The New Jersey Devils are looking strong after the Christmas break in the NHL. First, they defeated the Sabres on Wednesday and then they came back home the next day and outplayed the Edmonton Oilers. The team dreams of making the Playoffs at the end of the season, but this dream may not come true as they are already quite behind the top 7 and there are the Bruins in 9th place who are not only ahead of them in the standings, but also have 5 games in hand. The Devils had a lot of troubles with their defense right before the break as they were conceding goals after goals, leading them to a 6-game losing streak. Offensive-wise, they don’t have a player with more than 10 goals this season which is another sign that they might be missing a leader. However, the Swedes, Jesper Bratt and Andreas Johnson top the individual statistics for the Devils with 29 points and 21 points respectively.

The Capitals are having yet another great season so far. Alexander Ovechkin produces such a performance that not everyone at his age would be able to display. He keeps a close gap between himself and both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for the top spot in the players leaderboard. On top of that, his team enjoys being tied for first place in the East with 47 points from 33 matches. The Capitals managed to find a way past the Nashville Predators and the Detroit Red Wings after the break and this gave them further confidence coming into the fixture with the Devils. In my opinion, they should be able to outlast New Jersey as well, since the match will be played in Capital One Arena where the Capitals know how to perform on a high level. 

Denis’ NHL Pick: Washington Capitals -1.5 (+112)
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Tony Battalio

The New Jersey Devils are coming into this game with a record of 12-15-5 so far this season. They are sitting towards the bottom in a very competitive Metropolitan Division, and if they don’t turn it around quickly they will be out of the playoff race come February. They started a huge slump as the year was coming to a close and they lost six straight games before winning their final two of 2021 to slightly stop the bleeding. They will need to start stringing some victories in the new year if they want to remain competitive. The Devils will need to play a near perfect game if they want to take down the Capitals and it starts with finding a way to keep Alexander Ovechkin off the scoreboard. 

The previously mentioned Washington Capitals come into this game with a record of 20-6-7 on the season. They have picked up victories in three of their last four games. As long as Alexander Ovechkin is on the ice, the Capitals are a serious Stanley Cup contender this year, as he seems to be scoring goals at will. As for the result of this game, I have the Washington Capitals picking up the hard fought victory on the road against the New Jersey Devils. 

Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-235)

Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights – 4.00PM ET

The Winnipeg Jets kick off a four game road trip on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Vegas and take on the Golden Knights. The Jets will be playing their first game since having five games postponed in a row, and their season record currently stands at 14-11-5. The Golden Knights are currently on a two game winning streak, with wins over the Kings and Ducks.

Denis Kirilov

The Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights will have an intriguing contest on Sunday as they meet up in T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights lead the West with 44 points from 34 matches. However, it seems that this Conference falls behind the East as the average points won by the teams is quite less. The Golden Knights have managed to climb to the top of the table following a fantastic performance in December. They won 10 out of their last 12 matches with two of these wins coming after the Christmas break. The Golden Knights defeated the Kings and the Ducks as they didn’t even give them a chance after great first and second periods.

The Winnipeg Jets haven’t played a match since December 18th when they defeated the St. Louis Blues at home, 4-2. The team will need to level up their game if they want to make the Playoffs. There is a long time until that point of the season, but the current performance will simply not be enough. They are 11th with 33 points that have been accumulated from 30 matches. The team needs to improve its attack as there are just a couple of players who are performing on a higher level from the start of the season. Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers are their top performers while the veterans, Paul Stastny and Blake Wheeler, will try to live up to the high expectations. Overall, I think that the Golden Knights are favorites to win this game and I will surely go with them. 

Denis’ NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-162)

Tony Battalio

The Winnipeg Jets will kick off a four game road trip south of the border in fabulous Las Vegas in this one. The Jets come into this game with a record of 14-11-5 on the season. Winnipeg has been one of most affected teams by the Covid-19 pandemic cancellations and postponements as they have missed five games and already have three future ones postponed for the time being. They only played a total of eight games in the month of December and they compiled a record of 4-3-1 in those eight contests. They will need to play a great sixty minutes of hockey to pick up a victory in this game. 

The Vegas Golden Knights are coming into this game with a record of 22-12-0 as they are in first place of the Pacific Division. Vegas has put together a great season and has themselves established as a contender in the Western Conference as they will look to return to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time, since their debut year in the National Hockey League. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up another victory at home.

Tony’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-162)

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.

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