We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move into the final stretch of the season, each division’s ladder has already become well formed. This means that every single win or loss can have a significant impact on the position each team will finish in when the regular season draws to a close, 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.
St. Louis Blues @ New Jersey Devils – 1.00PM ET
The St. Louis Blues wrap up their four game road trip on Sunday afternoon with a game against the New Jersey Devils. The Blues will be looking to get back on track after dropping their game yesterday to the Islanders, 1-2. The Devils have lost three of their last four, and their last two in a row, which brings their overall season record to 19-31-5.
Marko Nadin
The New Jersey Devils are having another disappointing season as they are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 19-31-5 record. They have lost 3 of the final 4 games and are coming off a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers. The Devils are allowing 3.6 goals per game which is fourth-worst in the league while scoring 3 per game. Earlier this season, the Devils won 7-4 in St. Louis. New Jersey have lost 36 of the last 52 home games and 41 of the last 61 against Western Conference opponents.
The St. Louis Blues are third in the Western Conference with a 32-16-6 record. They are coming off an unexpected 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders which was their third in the last nine games. St. Louis has won 8 of the last 10 games against New Jersey. They have lost three games in a row only once this season. The Blues are the fifth best offensive team in the league scoring 3.5 goals per game and 6th best as they allow 2.7 goals per game. The Blues have won 5 of the last 6 games against a team with a losing record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues
Tony Battalio
The St. Louis Blues are coming into this game with a record of 32-16-6 through their first 54 games of the season. They are coming off of the first game of a back to back on Saturday evening where they lost to the New York Islanders by a score of 1-2 on the road in Long Island. Now the Blues will be looking to bounce back in this one when they hit the road to New Jersey. St. Louis is currently in second place in the Central division, but it is unlikely that they will be able to reclaim first this season because the league leading Colorado Avalanche are running away with it.
“Every team is going to give us something a little different. Our details around our puck battles will have to be good.”
Hear from Lindy Ruff ahead of today’s matchup against the Blues. #NJDevils | @Genucel pic.twitter.com/4yZvoGpNBS
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 6, 2022
It’s been a rough year for the New Jersey Devils as they come into this game with a record of 19-31-5, as they are 17 games below .500 through their first 55 games of the season. They are still in the middle of a rebuild and they still will be for a few more years in my opinion. They are in last place of the Metropolitan division at the moment as they are already virtually eliminated from the playoffs at this point. As for the result of this game I have the Blues getting the win over New Jersey.
Tony’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues
Jeffery Thomas
The Blues come in on the back-to-back after a rough loss to the Islanders on Saturday afternoon by a score of 2-1. This was a second straight loss for St. Louis who dropped a game on Wednesday to the Rangers and they will hope to get their offense back on track in this one. For the Devils, it’s been an 0-2 start to the month of March, losing to both the Blue Jackets and Rangers. Below average goaltending has been their issue for most of the season, and it’s just a thing they’ll have to address during this rebuild process.
They have good young offensive pieces, most notably Jack Hughes, who can at times keep the Devils competitive and cause problems with their speed (see their 7-2 win over Vancouver two games ago). But still at 19-31-5, the Devils are at last place in the Metro division and aren’t playing for anything this year. St. Louis’ offense has hit a wall lately but they are due for a big performance and against this Devils team they have a great opportunity to get back on track. New Jersey on their side have been impressive offensively, producing 4.55 goals a game over the last month. I think that sets us up for an over in this game and that’s what I’m making my official pick.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Over 6.5
Dallas Stars @ Minnesota Wild – 4.00PM ET
The Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, both of the Central Division, will face off against each other on Sunday afternoon in the NHL. The Stars will be looking to build on their three game winning streak this afternoon against the Wild. The Wild, on the other hand, will be hoping they can get back on track after dropping five of their last six games.
Marko Nadin
The Minnesota Wild are fourth in the Western Conference with a 32-18-3 record. They are going through the toughest period of the season as they have lost 7 of the last 9 games. Minnesota is coming off a 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The Wild have the third best offense in the league averaging 3.7 goals per game. The Wild have won 4 of the last 5 games against Dallas. They have won 11 of the last 15 games in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation. Minnesota has won 7 of the last 10 games played on Sunday but lost 4 of the last 5 against conference rivals.
The Dallas Stars have climbed to the seventh spot in the West as they have won 4 of the last 5 games. The Stars are coming off a 4-3 overtime win over Winnipeg. The Stars have won the last two games against Minnesota including a 7-4 win in December 2021. Dallas has won 7 of the last 9 road games and 4 of the last 5 games after their opponent have allowed five or more goals in the previous game. In four of the last 6 games between these two teams the total score has gone over the total points margin.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild
Tony Battalio
It’s been a pretty average year for the Dallas Stars so far this season. They come into this game with a record of 31-20-3. They are in 5th place in the Central division at the moment and sitting outside of the playoff picture. Dallas is currently on a three game winning streak after getting wins over the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and Buffalo Sabres. Dallas still has time to save their season and find their way into the playoffs but they will need to continue to string wins together and get some help from the other teams in the league as they don’t control their own destiny.
Coach Evason reacts to the 5-4 loss in Buffalo.
His full comments with media » https://t.co/twJr50aH1L pic.twitter.com/LVMqIXVfN3
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 5, 2022
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 32-18-3 through their first 53 games of the season. They are currently in third place in the Central division at the moment as they have put together a decent season thus far. They have all the tools to make a deep Stanley Cup playoff run if they can stay healthy. Minnesota is currently on a one game losing streak at the moment after losing their last game to the Buffalo Sabres. As for the result of this game I look for the Wild to get the win over Dallas and bounce back from their loss to Buffalo.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild
Jeffery Thomas
In this battle of two Central Division rivals we get two teams that are heading in opposite directions. The Minnesota Wild now find themselves in a bit of a slide recently, losing seven of nine games including an embarrassing 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Dallas has put together an 8-2-1 stretch over their last 11 after a big comeback victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
This run has them all the way up to the second spot in the wild card and now they’ll look to continue to bank points to solidify their spot in the postseason. Given how these two teams are playing right now, all the value is on the underdog Stars in this spot. The Wild are going through a multitude of issues (goaltending and injuries), and facing this hot Dallas team is not likely to be a cure for those problems. Give me the underdog Dallas Stars to pull out another alright victory in their run.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Dallas Stars
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Chicago Blackhawks – 7.00PM ET
The Tampa Bay Lightning kick off a six game road trip on Chicago on Sunday night in the NHL, when they face off against the Blackhawks. The Lightning have won six of their last seven, with their only loss in this period coming against the Penguins, 1-5. The Blackhawks will be on the second night of their back-to-back, and last time out they lost, 3-4, to the Flyers.
Marko Nadin
The Chicago Blackhawks are 14th in the Western Conference with a 20-27-8 record. They have lost 5 of the last 7 games and are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Chicago is ranked 30th in the league with 2.5 goals and 28.8 shots on goal per game. The Blackhawks have won 5 of the last 7 games against Eastern Conference teams but have lost 8 of the last 10 home games. They have lost 8 of the last 9 games as home underdog and the last 4 playing without a day off.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are second in the Eastern Conference with a 36-12-6 record and three points deficit behind the Carolina Hurricanes. The defending champions have won 6 of the last 7 games and are coming off a 3-1 win over Detroit. The Lightning have the seventh-best offense in the league with 3.4 goals per game and the eighth-best defense allowing 2.7 goals per game. Tampa Bay has won 8 of the last 10 games against Chicago. Tampa Bay has won 4 of the last 5 road games and 19 of the last 26 against Western Conference teams.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning
Tony Battalio
The Tampa Bay Lightning are coming into this game with a record of 36-12-6 through their first 54 games of the season. They have their sights set on a three peat as the regular season is winding down to its last 30 or so games. They will once again have to get hot at the correct time if they want to beat some of their contenders in the Eastern Conference this season. Tampa Bay is currently in second place in the Atlantic division at the moment, one point behind the Florida Panthers. They are on a one game winning streak at the moment as well.
Back at home tonight 👊 pic.twitter.com/88pAVg4FsL
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 6, 2022
The Chicago Blackhawks had a terrible start to the season. They have slowly recovered throughout the year but it is too little too late for the Windy City team. As they come into this game with a record of 20-28-8 though their first 56 games of the season. They are currently all the way down in seventh place in the Central division and they will likely remain there until the end of the season. They will be hoping that next year they can get off to a bit of a faster start and be way more competitive. As for the result of this game I have the Tampa Bay Lightning getting the victory in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning
Jeffery Thomas
The Blackhawks will play their second game in two days after a 4-3 loss in Philly to the Flyers. The losing has been a theme for Chicago, who has found themselves at the bottom of the standings for much of the season. They rank 30th in the league in goals per game (2.45), but can take solace in having a pretty good power play, scoring about 20% of the time with the man advantage. The Lightning are much more lethal on offense, ranking 7th in goals per game (3.41) on their road to defending their championship. Interestingly enough, their power play is also converting at about a 20% clip, which like I said isn’t bad but isn’t up to the standards of a championship caliber team.
What sets them apart from most teams is that they are just as good on defense as they are offense, only allowing 2.77 goals a game, which is 9th in the NHL. Hockey can be a weird sport and we see upsets all the time. Heck, on Saturday we just saw the Oilers lose to the Canadiens (at +200) and three other underdogs pull upsets, but I don’t see this as a spot where we will get that. It actually shouldn’t be close at all, as these teams are nowhere near each other in talent. Tampa has the rest advantage along with every advantage on the ice and this will be a blowout.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5
New York Rangers @ Winnipeg Jets – 7.00PM ET
The New York Rangers hit the road for what is the first of their four game road trip, and on Sunday night they will take on the Winnipeg Jets. The Rangers have won their last two games in a row, and this takes their overall season record to 35-15-5. The Jets have lost five of their last seven, including their last game, where they went down to the Stars, 3-4, in overtime.
Marko Nadin
The Winnipeg Jets are 12th in the Western Conference with a 24-21-10 record. They have lost 5 of the last games and are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. Winnipeg is scoring and allowing exactly 3 goals per game. The Jets have won 3 of the last 5 games against the Rangers. They have lost 10 of the last 14 games playing on a 1 day rest and 20 of the last 28 games against Eastern Conference opponents. The Jets have played over the total goals margin in the last 4 games and in 7 of the last 11 Sunday games.
The New York Rangers are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 35-15-5 record. They have won 4 of the last 6 games and are coming off a 3-1 win over the local rival New Jersey Devils. The Rangers are the third-best defensive team in the league allowing 2.5 goals per game while scoring 2.9 which ranks them 19th in the league. The Rangers have won 5 of the last 7 games against Western Conference opponents and 8 of the last 10 Sunday games. The Rangers have played under the total goals margin in 6 of the last 8 games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Over 5.5
Tony Battalio
The New York Rangers have been one of the biggest surprises of the season this year. As they come into this game with a record of 35-15-5 through their first 55 games of the season. New York is currently in third place in the Metropolitan division at the moment. They are currently on a two game winning streak after getting back to back wins over New Jersey and St. Louis to start the month of March with a record of 2-0-0. They will be looking to get into the playoffs and make a deep run to the Stanley Cup Finals and if they keep playing the way they are they will have a great shot of doing that.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 6, 2022
It’s been a below average year for the Winnipeg Jets, as they come into this game below .500 on the season. They come into this game with a record of 24-21-10 through their first 55 games of the season. Winnipeg is currently on a one game losing streak after dropping their last game to the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-3 in overtime at home. The Jets would need a very lengthy winning streak at this point to get themselves anywhere close to playoff contention. As for the result of this game I don’t see that happening as I have the New York Rangers getting victory in this game.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers
Jeffery Thomas
New York will enter this contest on a two-game winning streak after taking down the Devils 3-1 on Friday night. Only allowing a combined 4 goals they in those two games are a big reason for the wins and they will need to continue playing lights-out defense to make up for a sometimes stagnant offense. Also, going against this powerful Jets offense they will need to show up, as Winnipeg is averaging 4.8 goals a game in their last five at home. The Jets are coming into this one off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars. That is the 9th game in their last 12 that has seen six or more goals scored, an indication that their defense has been struggling mightily.
Now with a record of 24-21-10 and 6 points back of the second wild card spot, the Jets will need to make a huge run down the stretch to have a chance at sneaking into the postseason. Catching the Rangers here at plus money due to them being on the road is great value in my opinion. They have been the better team of these two all season and while their form does fall a bit on the road they are still a solid 16-12 on the season. Winnipeg has been inconsistent all year and can’t be trusted to win games like this as a home favorite so I’m rolling with the Rangers here.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers
Seattle Kraken @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7.00PM ET
The road trip continues on for the Seattle Kraken, who will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL tonight. The Kraken are playing on back-to-back nights and last time out they lost, 2-5, to the Capitals. The Hurricanes managed to put to bed their losing streak, which stood at just two games, as they got the win last time out against the Penguins, 3-2, in overtime.
Marko Nadin
The Carolina Hurricanes are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 38-12-5 record. The Hurricanes snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina is on top of the league with 2.4 allowed goals per game and 89.3 PP%. Carolina has won 12 of the last 15 games coming in after only one day off and have won 50 of the last 69 games against the Western Conference. The Hurricanes have played under the total goals margin in 6 of the last 7 home games and in 8 of the last 11 games against a Pacific Division rival.
The Seattle Kraken are currently 15th in the Western Conference with a 17-35-5 record. They put an end to a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against Nashville but lost the last one 5-2 against the Washington Capitals. The Kraken defeated the Hurricanes 2-1 in their first game this season. Seattle has lost 19 of the last 26 road games and 20 of the last 26 as an underdog. They have played under the total goals margin in 5 of the last 7 games against a team with a winning record.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes
Tony Battalio
The Seattle Kraken are playing the second game of a back to back in this one. In the first game of their back to back on Saturday evening they faced off with the Washington Capitals on the road in the nation’s capital. They wound up losing that game by a score of 2-5 and now they will be looking to bounce back against one of the top teams in the National Hockey League. The Kraken haven’t had to best introduction to the NHL as they come into this game with a record of 17-35-5 through their first 57 games of the season as they currently in last place in the Pacific division.
Hockey weather ☀️ pic.twitter.com/y3vgkulbVs
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 6, 2022
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming into this game with a record of 38-12-5 through their first 55 games of the season. They are on top of the Eastern Conference at the moment and likely the top favorite to win the Eastern Conference at this point in the season as well. Carolina comes into this game currently on a one game winning streak after getting a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime on Friday night. As for the result of this game I have the Hurricanes getting the win over Seattle.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes
Jeffery Thomas
It looked like the Hurricanes were heading towards their third straight loss when they fell behind 2-0 to the Penguins in the first period in their last game, but they turned it around at the intermission and were able to escape with the 3-2 overtime victory. Carolina has the most points in the Eastern Conference, so that two-game losing streak was rare and now will look to build off that lay win and continue their dominant ways. The Seattle Kraken on the other hand, are no strangers to losing, losing eight of their last nine games. On Saturday, they suffered a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, so they’ll be playing this game on no rest.
Their defensive issues have been the main cause for their struggles and facing a team with as much firepower as Carolina, they’re going to have a lot of issues keeping this game close. At home this year the Carolina Hurricanes are 20-4-2 outscoring opponents by an average of 1.52 goals a game. That goal differential is exactly what we need in this game against the lowly Kraken to cover the puck line and there’s no reason they won’t be able to do just that. The Kraken will have tired legs after playing just yesterday and the Canes will dictate play in this game. It’ll be too much for Seattle to handle and this will not be close.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
