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.
Seattle Kraken @ New York Rangers – 1.00PM ET
The Seattle Kraken are in game two of their four game road trip, and on Sunday afternoon they go toe to toe with the New York Rangers. The Kraken have won four of their last six games, and this takes their season record to 14-25-4. The Rangers are on a two game losing streak after suffering defeats at the hands of the Blue Jackets and Wild.
Denis Kirilov
The rookies from Seattle will try to upset yet another strong team in the NHL after defeating the Florida Panthers, the San Jose Sharks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins throughout the last week. The Kraken, however, still sit in 15th place in the Western Conference with just 32 points from 43 matches. The team lacks consistency, experience, and chemistry which came in decisive for the end product of their efforts for this season. My opinion is that they will grow stronger and they might even fight for a Playoffs spot even during the upcoming campaign.
The New York Rangers are surprisingly among the top squads in the Eastern Conference. They are currently 5th in the overall standings as their 21-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets surely gives them a lot of room to breathe for the remainder of the season. Their conservative approach has paid off so far as they have only conceded 118 goals in their net, compared to a League average of around 130 goals. I think they are the superior team in the upcoming fixture and keeping in mind that the game will be played in Madison Square Garden, the Rangers should really try to make up for the loss to the Minnesota Wild in their last meeting. My pick here goes in favour of the hosts as I hope they will be able to wrap it up during the regular time.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – New York Rangers (-125)
Tony Battalio
The Seattle Kraken haven’t had the season that they were hoping for. As their first season in the National Hockey League has been full of losses and disappointment. They come into this game with a record of 14-25-4 through their first 43 games of the season. They are in last place in the Pacific Division as they are virtually all but eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the season. In their last game they picked up a surprising victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 2-1.
REMINDER: today’s away game against the @NYIslanders has been postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 4pm PT due to a weather-related state of emergency in New York.
Learn more → https://t.co/ZNR4GkGblE pic.twitter.com/Ges0K8A4RM
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) January 29, 2022
The New York Rangers come into this game with a record of 28-13-4 through their first 45 games on the season. The Rangers have fallen down to third place in the Metropolitan Division after suffering back to back losses. They will be looking to break that streak in this game with a win over one of the weaker teams in the league. As for the result of this game, I expect the New York Rangers to do exactly that and pick up the victory in this one over the Seattle Kraken, as they look to regain their spot on top of the Metropolitan Division.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-205)
Jeffery Thomas
The Rangers are coming into this one on their first losing streak since December when they dropped games to the Golden Knights and Panthers respectively. Both losses were after having two goal leads early and then fading down the stretch. Thursday was a 2-0 lead in the opening 4:44 on Columbus before eventually losing 3-5 and then Friday was the same lead in the first period and not scoring the rest of the game. Before that slide, they had rattled off a stretch where they won 9 of 12. Now they are set to host the expansion Kraken for the first time in this Sunday matinee. This was originally going to be the second leg of a back to back for the Kraken, but their Saturday game against the Islanders was postponed due to a blizzard in the area.
Seattle is on a 4-2-0 stretch after a rough 9 game skid. In their last game out they beat the Penguins and in that effort, earned their first win in franchise history when trailing after 2 periods. This game sets up as a low scoring bout where the goaltending will be a major factor. When that’s the case, and the Rangers are involved I’m going to almost always side with the Vezina Trophy candidate Igor, who gives the Rangers a major goaltending advantage on almost every team. This is a bounce back spot for the Rangers who will try to gain an early lead and finally hold it throughout and that’s what I’m predicting they will do.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-205)
Los Angeles Kings @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 1.00PM ET
Another Sunday afternoon NHL game for your viewing pleasure, and this time we will see the Los Angeles Kings take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings have won two of their last four, but the two games they lost in this period have been in either overtime or a shootout. The Penguins have lost their last two games in a row, and just like the Kings, those losses came in either overtime or a shootout.
Denis Kirilov
The Los Angeles Kings will travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday to face off the Penguins in one of the most interesting games in the NHL schedule. The hosts lead the Metropolitan Division with 61 points, despite losing their last two home-games against the Seattle Kraken and the Detroit Red Wings. The Penguins rely much on their defense that has helped them survive on the ice on quite many occasions this year. Their offense shouldn’t be disregarded, since Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, and Evan Rodrigues have been on top of their game recently.
The Los Angeles Kings will try to surprise everybody and make it to the Playoffs this season. The team is currently in 7th place in the Western Conference, but the situation within their Pacific Division is quite tight. A total of 7 teams fight for just 4 spots, but the Kings at least have a little advantage in terms of points, despite playing five more matches than their Canadian rivals from Calgary and Edmonton. Their fantastic run around the Christmas break has come to an end after they had to face some of the best teams in the NHL in January. However, the Penguins’ performance dropped drastically in their last two matches and I think the case will be similar against the Kings who are determined to build a bigger lead over their opponents. Hence, I will go with a win for the guests here.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Los Angeles Kings
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Kings come into this game with a record of 22-16-7 through their first 45 games of the season. However, they have struggled as of late, losing three of their last five games on the year. The Kings are currently occupying a playoff spot as they find themselves in third place of the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is currently on a one game losing streak after picking up a loss against the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime in their last game. Now the Kings will be looking to pick up a win over the other Pennsylvania team in this one as their road trip continues.
The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game with a record of 27-10-7 through their first 44 games on the season. The Penguins have been one of the hotter teams in the National Hockey League as of late despite a couple of ill timed and preventable losses. The Penguins are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division as they trail the Carolina Hurricanes by a single point. As for the result of this game, I have the Pittsburgh Penguins picking up the victory over the Los Angeles Kings at home and regaining the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins
Jeffery Thomas
The Kings are continuing their road trip when they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins, following their 4-3 overtime loss to the Flyers on Saturday. That was an unacceptable loss, as that was the Flyers first win since December 29. They expended a lot of energy to forge that game to overtime as they were down 1-3 midway through the 3rd period, before scoring 45 seconds later and then the equalizer with less than a minute left in regulation. It appeared that’s all they had, as they were dominated in the overtime period. The Penguins will be coming into this one looking for revenge on the Kings and also looking to get back on track after a couple bad losses to the Kraken and Red Wings. These two teams faced off a couple weeks ago and the Kings won that one 6-2.
The Penguins are better at every facet of the game than the Kings and are catching them on the back to back. I personally don’t see them losing 3 straight home games to bottom tier teams and I think they’ll see this as a great get right spot. With their best goalie, Jarry expected in net against the Kings backup, this task shouldn’t be too hard. Slow starts are very familiar to Los Angeles on the second half of back to backs, as their first period record in these situations is 0-5-3. But, instead of laying the juice on the ML, I’m going to bank on a hot start by the Pens and come out firing at home and having the lead after the first period. They will need to get things going in this one and I think it’ll start early.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: 1st Period Moneyline – Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks @ Carolina Hurricanes – 5.00PM ET
Both the San Jose Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes will be playing on back-to-back days. The Sharks lost their last game, 4-5, in overtime against the Panthers. The Hurricanes won their game against the Devils on Saturday night, 2-1.
Denis Kirilov
The San Jose Sharks have been playing on a lot of ups and downs recently as they are still looking to pick up some consistency in their games. The team managed to defeat the Washington Capitals, but at the same time, dropped their match against the Seattle Kraken. They completely smashed the Los Angeles Kings at home, but before that they suffered two losses to direct rivals like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers. Their inconsistency is in their way of climbing the leaderboard in the strong Pacific Division. In order to have a decent chance of qualifying for the Playoffs, they will need to improve their game and keep up at a high level for a long period.
The Carolina Hurricanes are almost certain for the Playoffs this year as they are 2nd in their Metropolitan Division. However, they have a 21-point advantage over the Columbus Blue Jackets who are the first team outside the top 4 and this will surely give them a lot of space to relax. In my opinion, they will need to take their feet off the throttle as they will need that energy and high-level performance towards the end of the season. That’s why I am happy to pick the Sharks here as I also think that the Hurricanes’ defense won’t let that many goals in their net, thus keeping their good defensive record. So, I will give you two options – a surprise win for the guests and “under 6.0 goals in the match”.
Denis’ NHL Pick: San Jose Sharks (+240)
Denis’ NHL Bonus Pick: Under 6.5 (-122)
Tony Battalio
The San Jose Sharks will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one as they will take on the Carolina Hurricanes who are coming off a back to back of their own as well. The difference between the two teams is that the Hurricanes won their first game of the back to back while the San Jose Sharks got beat. The Sharks now come into this game with a record of 22-19-3 as they sit exactly at the .500 mark after losing to the Florida Panthers on Saturday evening. The Sharks are currently in fourth place of the Pacific Division.
Whale that was a lot of fun 🐳
Recap » https://t.co/gbd3Fy9PVh pic.twitter.com/Uva8RuFBQ8
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 30, 2022
The Carolina Hurricanes come into this one as one of the best teams in the National Hockey League as the season has crossed the halfway point. They are currently leading the Metropolitan Division with a one point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hurricanes come into this game with a record of 30-9-2 through their first 41 games on the season. As for the result of this game, I have the Carolina Hurricanes picking up the victory over the San Jose Sharks at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-310)
Jeffery Thomas
The Sharks had a dark cloud hanging over them after a couple bad losses, one to Seattle and then a beat down by Tampa 7-1. But they picked themselves up and gained 3 points in their past 2 games, a 4-1 win over Washington and a then tough 4-5 overtime loss on Saturday to Florida. In the loss to the Panthers, they were up 4-2 in the third before the comeback Cats did what they do best and rallied for the win. The Sharks power play was great in that game executing on 2 of 3 opportunities in that tough environment where only 3 teams have found a way to beat Florida. The Canes on the other hand, picked up a solid 2-1 victory over the Devils on Saturday, moving them back to first place in the Metro.
Playing the best team in the league in terms of points and then the first place Carolina Hurricanes, may be one of the hardest tasks to ask a team to do and that’s exactly what the San Jose Sharks are faced with. The Canes got the first leg of their back to back without Andersen in net, so getting him back for this one offers them another big edge, along with just being the deeper and more talented team. They are also at home and all signs point to a big win for the Canes who are legit Stanley Cup contenders. Give me the Canes in regulation.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – Carolina Hurricanes (-185)
Minnesota Wild @ New York Islanders – 7.30PM ET
The Minnesota Wild continue their road trip on Sunday when they take on the New York Islanders. The Wild are currently on a four game winning streak, which includes wins over the Blackhawks (twice), Canadiens and Rangers. The Islanders have won four of their last six games, and this takes their season record to 15-15-6.
Denis Kirilov
The Minnesota Wild will make an attempt to continue their good run as they are coming into this match on a 4-game winning streak. After defeating the Chicago Blackhawks twice, the team found the right way past the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. The last two games were a sheer example of their huge potential that has hidden somewhere deep down up until now. The Wild have been playing on a top level throughout the biggest portion of the campaign which helped them climb to 4th place in the overall standings in the West. A total of 55 points from 39 games is one of the best points per average at the moment, making them a big contender at least for the Conference title.
The New York Islanders have been struggling this year despite the fact that they are 11th in the East with a fantastic chance to jump into the top 10 soon. They might have played 9 less games than the Washington Capitals, but they still have 21 points to erase from their deficit. The Islanders managed to pick up some good form recently, winning 7 out of their last 10 games. However, most of their victims are teams with a below 0.500 performance so far which makes their run quite unimpressive. Hence, I am willing to give Minnesota a chance at prolonging their winning streak in what promises to be a very tight match in New York on Sunday.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-134)
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 26-10-3 through their first 39 games of the season. The Wild were one of the best teams in the league at the beginning of the season, but have fallen back towards the middle of the pack as the season has gone on. The Wild currently find themselves in fourth place of the super competitive Central Division. They are currently on a four game winning streak as they are looking to climb their way back into first place in the Central Division. They will have a great shot at a win in this one against a weak New York Islanders team.
The previously mentioned New York Islanders have been having a rough season up until this point. The Islanders started the season on a very lengthy road trip while their new arena was being built. Now as they get to play in that arena they haven’t gotten much better in the process. They are coming into this game with a record of 15-15-6 on the year through their first 36 games of the season. However as for the result of this game, I have the Minnesota Wild picking up the victory with ease over the New York Islanders on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-134)
Jeffery Thomas
The Wild will continue their New York road trip following a dramatic 3-2 win on Friday night over the Rangers. They had to overcome a two goal deficit in the 1st period to rally for that win, which extended their winning streak to 4 and their point streak to 8. They now sit with a record of 26-10-3, good for 55 points and 4th place in a loaded Central Division. The Islanders have been off since Thursday, when they hosted the Kings and fell 2-3. Their Saturday home game was postponed due to winter storm Kenan, which dropped a foot of snow on the metro area. The Islanders had an 11 game losing streak from November 7 to December 5, but turned things around and are 10-5-1 since then.
The loss to the Kings, who are in third place in the Pacific, brought back up a problem that has plagued New York all season, which is they can’t beat the good teams. They are 2-11-3 against teams who are currently occupying a playoff spot and 13-4-3 against those outside of playoff contention. Bad news for them in this one is they are facing a Wild team who is in the playoffs. Back in early November, Minnesota took care of the Islanders 5-2 and I don’t see any reason why we’re going to get a different result in this one. Give me the Wild.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-134)
Buffalo Sabres @ Colorado Avalanche – 8.00PM ET
The road trip continues on for the Buffalo Sabres and on Sunday night they take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Sabres are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they won against the Coyotes, 3-1. The Avalanche’s roll continues on, and their winning streak now sits at nine in a row.
Denis Kirilov
The Buffalo Sabres are coming against the Colorado Avalanche after defeating the Arizona Coyotes on the road. With this victory, they managed to make up for their awful 0-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The Sabres, however, seem like that have no way out of their situation as they are 6th in their Atlantic Division which doesn’t give them much chances of advancing further. The team trails back 18 points behind the Boston Bruins and their main goal until the end of the season would be to get as much experience as possible in order to build a more competitive roster for the next year.
The Colorado Avalanche would love to face such teams in the second part of the campaign. The top favorite for the Stanley Cup rides on a 9-game winning streak that began on December 15th with a tough win over the worst team in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes. Ever since then, the Avalanche have been merciless with their actions on the ice defeating strong opponents like the Boston Bruins, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Minnesota Wild. Having a 7-point lead at the top of the Western Conference further gives them a lot of space to chill out, but I don’t think they are done. In my opinion, they will continue their relentless run with a dominant win over the Sabres on Sunday.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -2.5 (-130)
Tony Battalio
The Buffalo Sabres will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one as they stay out west to play the current Stanley Cup favorites, the Colorado Avalanche. In the first game of the back to back the Buffalo Sabres came out on top against the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 3-1 on the road in Phoenix. The Sabres come into this game as one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League this season after a surprisingly hot start. They are currently 14-22-7 through their first 43 games on the season. Buffalo is currently on a one game winning streak after their win over Arizona.
Before we takeoff, the highly requested game puck video!
Way to be, @Jcomph7 👊#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/m7T2EcllG2
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 29, 2022
The Colorado Avalanche are the current Stanley Cup favorites at the moment. They come into this game with a record of 31-8-3 after their first 42 games on the season. They will be looking to add another win to their league leading win total in this game over the Buffalo Sabres. The Avalanche have won their last nine games on the season. They will be looking to extend their lead in the Central Division with a win in this game. As for the result of this game, I have the Avalanche picking up the victory over the Buffalo Sabres at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-550)
Jeffery Thomas
Sabres picked up a 3-1 victory on Saturday night over the lowly Coyotes and will now travel to face the Colorado Avalanche on the back to back. They were up 2-0 after the first period and were able to cruise to the victory, their 14th in the season. The 35 points they have is good for 6th place in the Atlantic Division. For Colorado, they come in sitting in first place of the Central and 2 points shy of the Panthers for the league best mark in points. They’ve won their last 5 games and are just rolling along, hoping to keep the streak alive at home. They have a home record of 14-5-3 and will look to build upon that in another game where they will be heavy favorites.
This is a very bad spot for the Sabres. Their starting goaltender Aaron Dell is still serving a suspension for his check on an Ottawa forward and will be getting a rested Avs team that is already much better than them. I see this being a pretty straightforward and easy win for the home team who will control this one throughout and win this one on the spread.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -2.5 (-130)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
