It was a crazy day of NHL yesterday, with some big upsets and score lines across the 12 games. With 8 games on the Sunday agenda, there are some great looking fixtures, have a read through to see our experts NHL picks.
Buffalo Sabres @ New York Islanders – 12.00 PM ET
The Islanders cruised past the Sabres yesterday, claiming their 4th consecutive win by doing so. They went into the second term down a goal to nil before scoring 4 unanswered goals in the second, winning 5-2 in the end.
The win was the Islanders second victory over the Sabres in their 3 game series, also winning the other 5-2, and continues their impressive home record this season, now at 9-0-2.
Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders for scoring, and the talented 23 year old added another goal and assist to his tally, now on 22 points for the season. The win puts the Islanders on top of the East Division, with a record of 14-6-4, and 7 wins from their previous 10 games.
Hands up if you’re having a good Saturday! 🙋♂️🙋♀️🙋 pic.twitter.com/nLfm9kobpW
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 7, 2021
The Sabres’ suffering continued, recording their 6th consecutive defeat, bringing their record to 6-13-3 for the season. They will not go into the game today too confident, having lost to the Islanders on 5 occasions already this season.
Looking set to miss the playoffs for another year, the form of the Sabres is such that head coach Ralph Krueger’s’ position is thought to be very close to being terminated.
NHL Pick – New York Islanders (-212)
Spread Pick – New York Islanders -1.5 (+125)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+115)
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Chicago Blackhawks – 2.30 PM ET
The Lightning went to a shootout against the Chicago Blackhawks to decide the winner in their 3-3 regulation time game, with Philipp Kurashev scoring the only goal in the shootout to give the Blackhawks the win.
The match was the second in this 3 game series, and the 4th game between the two teams this season, of which Tampa had won the previous 3.
The loss ends the Lightnings’ 6 game streak, but they still sit on top of the Central Division on 34 points, just 3 points ahead of the 4th place Blackhawks.
The win was massive for Chicago, having only been narrowly beaten by the Lightning in the previous 2 games, giving them good momentum going into the final game today.
Adam Boqvist and Patrick Kane both provided 2 assists, while Alex DeBrincat buried 2 goals on their way to victory. The Blackhawks have Malcolm Subban to thank for keeping them in the game though, facing an onslaught of shots from the Lightning, Subban made 39 saves in regulation time at a rate of .929, and an additional 3 during the shootout.
NHL Pick – Tampa Bay Lightning (-185)
Spread Pick – Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (+145)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.0 (-111)
Florida Panthers @ Carolina Hurricanes – 5.00 PM ET
The Panthers put on a dominant 6-2 performance over the Nashville Predators yesterday, clean sweeping their 2 game series. The team played very well as a whole, but Noel Acciari was the standout, scoring his first goal of the season in the second term, followed by 2 more to complete his hat trick.
The Panthers are tied at the top of the Central Division on 34 points, and boast the best away record in the league heading into their match in Carolina, with 7 wins from 9 away games.
Carolina are coming off the back of a 5-2 victory at home to the Detroit Red Wings, the win was the 4th in a row for the Canes who sit just 1 point behind the Panthers in 3rd place.
A little R&R goes a long wayhttps://t.co/Ovm0BO3TA7
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 7, 2021
They defeated the Panthers in back to back games most recently, winning both past regulation time, this time the Canes will play host to the Panthers, hoping to put an end to their impressive away record.
Following their win over the Red Wings, Vincent Trochek and Jordan Staal joined teammate Sebastion Aho on 20+ points for the season, scoring 2 and 3 points respectively.
NHL Pick – Carolina Hurricanes (-151)
Spread Pick – Florida Panthers +1.5 (-222)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (-125)
New Jersey Devils @ Boston Bruins – 5.00 PM ET
The Devils wrapped up their 2 game series against the New York Rangers yesterday, losing both games convincingly, with an aggregate score of 4-12.
The loss was their 5th in a row, and their 8th from the last 10 games played, still in second last place in the East Division after 20 games.
The Devils’ prospects for improvement don’t look too great either, as they prepare to play the division’s 3 top teams over the next 5 games, and they go into their match today with only 1 night of rest.
The Bruins replied to the Capitals in a big way following their first leg shootout defeat, comfortably winning on Friday night 5-1. The win was made sweeter for the Bruins after a hit from Tom Wilson late in the first term sent Brandon Carlo to hospital, causing a lot of bad blood between the two teams.
The Bruins got back in the second by scoring 3 unanswered goals, including a beautifully worked second goal set up by Brad Marchand which was tucked away by Bergeron.
NHL Pick – Boston Bruins (-250)
Spread Pick – Boston Bruins -1.5 (+120)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+110)
Washington Capitals @ Philadelphia Flyers @ – 7 PM ET
The Flyers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the final game of their 3 match series, from which they walked away with 1 win. The Flyers brought it to the Penguins, the game was all tied up heading into the third, but the Flyers were let down by some poor errors, losing 4-3.
The loss brings the Flyers season record to 12-6-3, in 4th place in the highly competitive Eastern Division, tied for points with the Penguins in 5th. Todays’ match against the Capitals will be the first of a 4 game homestand, and the Flyers will be fired up, as they welcome back fans for the first time in nearly a year.
TK following #PHIvsPIT: “I thought we played a pretty good game. There’s stuff to clean up obviously but I thought we gave a good effort today.” pic.twitter.com/tXbsno58ct
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 6, 2021
The Capitals were embarrassed by a well prepared Bruins outfit yesterday, losing 5-1, the loss was just the 3rd defeat from the Washington based teams’ previous 10 games.
The Flyers and Capitals have only met once this season, an 11 goal thriller won by the Flyers thanks to a 3 goal third term. They will be going into this match with an additional day of rest over their opponent.
NHL Pick – Washington Capitals (+100)
Spread Pick – Washington Capitals +1.5 (-250)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.0 (-120)
New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 7.30 PM ET
The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils yesterday to sweep the 2 game series, winning 6-1 in the first, and 6-3 yesterday. The wins were a good start to the Rangers 6 match roadtrip, and puts them on a season high 3 consecutive wins as they push to make a playoff position.
Playing in the absence of their talisman, Artemi Panarin, the Rangers have risen to the occasion recently, Ryan Strome was instrumental over the series sweep, providing 2 assists in the first game, and 2 goals in yesterdays’ match.
Pittsburgh picked up a big win against the Flyers yesterday, flipping the scoreboard of their previous game by winning 4-3, taking out the series 2 games to 1 by doing so.
Tied 3-3 heading into the third term, Jared McCann stepped up and scored the winning goal, his 3rd in 5 games. The win is of massive importance to the Penguins, who are now level on points with the Flyers, sitting in 5th place in the Eastern Division with 2 more games of their 5 match homestand to play.
NHL Pick – New York Rangers (+125)
Spread Pick – New York Rangers +1.5 (-238)
Total Goals Pick – Over 6.0 (-125)
Nashville Predators @ Dallas Stars – 8.00 PM ET
The Predators were swept by the Florida Panthers in a 2 game series, losing in the final game yesterday 6-2, the 3rd straight home defeat for the Predators.
They will now hit the road for the next 8 games, so far this season, the Predators are 3-6-1 when playing away from home. In keeping with the theme of the season, Filip Forsberg was the most important player over the Panther series, providing 1 goal and 4 assists over the 2 game period, bringing his total to 24 points.
The Stars defeated the Blue Jackets yesterday 5-0, the shutout victory breaks the Stars 4 loss streak, and gives them just their second win in 12 games.
The whole team played their role in the victory, with Roope Hintz scoring 1 and assisting another, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen scoring his second goal in as many games while putting in a good shift in defense.
🎥 Rick Bowness on Roope Hintz: “Tonight, you realize how much we need him. On the penalty kill and on the power play. Everything he does. He is such an important part of our team.”@ATT | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/vJdsAszIsH
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 7, 2021
The victory will be most special for rookie goaltender Jake Oettinger though, as he saved all 21 of the shots that came his way, recording his first ever NHL shutout.
NHL Pick – Nashville Predators (+130)
Spread Pick – Nashville Predators +1.5 (-243)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (+110)
Ottawa Senators @ Calgary Flames – 9.30 PM ET
The Senators lost to the Flames on Thursday, the 4th game in a 5 match series between the two teams, with a game against the Canadiens in the middle.
Of the 4 games played so far, the points are evenly split, with each team winning 2 games a piece heading into the final match. The Senators never looked in the game on Friday, losing 5-1 at the start of the third, going on to lose 7-3. Drake Batherson wasn’t able to provide for the first time across the 4 games, having contributed 5 points up until then.
The Senators are heading into this match with 3 days of rest under their belts, a luxury that Calgary do not share.
They are coming off the back of an overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, and more specifically, a Connor McDavid masterclass, who assisted 2 of the Oilers goals before completing the comeback win with an overtime goal to win 3-2.
The bitterly disappointing loss is the Flames 7th from their previous 10 games, extending the playoff position gap to 4 points. The Flames will play their next 5 games at home against some of the better teams in the division, they are 4-4 from home games so far this season.
NHL Pick – Calgary Flames (-152)
Spread Pick – Calgary Flames -1.5 (+135)
Total Goals Pick – Over 5.5 (-131)
The 2021 NHL is well underway now! If you want to catch up with all the latest information, make sure you visit our NHL hub page.
*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of Bet365.
