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.
Ottawa Senators @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7.00PM ET
The Ottawa Senators have a short, one game road trip when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who kick off a two game homestand. The Senators are playing on back-to-back nights, and last night they fell to the Canucks, 2-6. The Hurricanes really need to get back on track after losing four of their last five games, they lost to teams like the Sharks, Kraken, Capitals and Stars.
Denis Kirilov
After yet another loss this season, this time to the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa will have a tough visit to one of the best teams in the NHL currently. The Carolina Hurricanes have been dominating the League, but their most recent form dropped them to 4th place in the East with 31 points, 4 points behind the first place taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs. They will look to take it back as soon as possible and the Senators might just be an inevitable victim in their pursuit of 1st place in the Conference.
Ottawa is dead last in the East with just 9 points out of 20 games. They have lost 12 out of their last 13 games and the sole victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins doesn’t really help them in any way. The team tends to lose by more than 2 goals, meaning that they didn’t even have the chance to fight for some points. Although the Hurricanes seem inconsistent recently, I am willing to trust them to win this meeting at PNC Arena against the last team in the overall standings. Keeping in mind that the odds for their win are low, I will have to go deeper and choose them to cover their spread.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (-132)
Tony Battalio
The Ottawa Senators were in action last night and dropped a game to the Vancouver Canucks at home. It was the fifth game back on the ice for the Senators and it was their fifth loss. Overall, that brings their losing streak to six games as they lost to the Calgary Flames before COVID issues caused them to postpone games. Their overall record on the year is 4-15-1 as this appears to be a lost season for Ottawa. Even before the shutdown they have looked completely abysmal.
📊 from tonight’s final. pic.twitter.com/LnpPszVixg
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 2, 2021
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the NHL this season. However, they have lost four of their last five games and only time will tell if it’s just a bump in the round or a serious problem that needs adjusting. Despite the slump, they still possess a record of 15-5-1 on the year. As for the result of this one, I look for the Carolina Hurricanes to not only pick up a huge victory at home but also cover the spread.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (-132)
Michael Lantz
The Ottawa Senators are slowly but surely becoming the worst team in the NHL. They were destroyed by the equally pathetic Vancouver Canucks 2-6 (!) at home. Things won’t get any easier for this team as they take on a 15-5-1 Carolina Hurricanes team in Raleigh. But, is this the time for Ottawa to come at Carolina in full force? The Hurricanes have lost four of their last five, including a 1-4 defeat on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.
It should be noted the ‘Canes are without their star defender Tony DeAngelo, but still, after this team looked like a favorite to compete for the Stanley Cup, recent results have brought forth a fair share of skeptics. Hopefully it’s just an early season rough patch, as the Hurricanes have too much talent (some of which are injured) to make this a trend. They get a nice matchup to rebuild some confidence on Thursday night as they play the abysmal Senators team in a game they have no excuse but to win.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (-132)
Buffalo Sabres @ Florida Panthers – 7.00PM ET
The Buffalo Sabres hit the road when they travel to Florida to take on the Panthers. The Sabres are coming off a tough November, where they only managed three wins, which takes their season record to 8-11-3. The Panthers had some tough losses recently, but last time out they did get a win against the Capitals, 5-4.
Denis Kirilov
The Buffalo Sabres will travel to Florida to do the unthinkable this season and defeat the Panthers in FLA Live Arena. Florida is one of the top teams in the NHL at the moment, sitting at 2nd place in the East with 33 points out of 22 games. For comparison, the Sabres are 11th with just 19 points to their name. The Panthers have one of the best offensive lineups in the League, while Buffalo has one of the worst defensive stats. They have conceded a total of 77 goals which makes it third-to-worst in the Conference, behind the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers have lost two consecutive games recently – to the Capitals and surprisingly to the Seattle Kraken at home. However, they managed to bounce back with a victory over Washington in their third meeting for the season. The Sabres, on the other hand, had two unsatisfying performances against the Detroit Red Wings and the Seattle Kraken, losing both games. They are on a 1-6 run recently and I don’t see how this will be improved anytime soon. For me, the Panthers shouldn’t get surprised by the Sabres and take a demanding lead in the first two periods. Hence, I will go with them covering the spread against Buffalo tomorrow.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Florida Panthers -1.5 (-108)
Tony Battalio
The Buffalo Sabres got off to a surprising start this season but have since cooled off. They now come into this game with a record of 8-11-3 on the season. Buffalo has come up short in six of their last seven games as they enter the month of December. This game against the Panthers on Thursday will be the first game of a quick two game road trip that makes its final stop in Carolina. The Sabres have a tough schedule ahead of them, so any hopes of reaching the .500 mark are few and far between if the games go like they are predicted to.
The Florida Panthers quickly established themselves as a Stanley Cup contender when they reached double digit games without a loss this season. However, after the fallout from the Chicago Blackhawks scandal led to their coach stepping down, they seemingly hit some bumps in the road. They now come into this opening game in December with a record of 15-4-3 through 22 games. This game against Buffalo will be the third game of a four game homestand that they are currently 1-1-0 on. As for the result of this game, I expect Florida to pick up the second win of this home stand.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-285)
Michael Lantz
The Sabres are coming off a whopping from the Seattle Kraken, as they lost 4-7 at home. Things won’t get any easier as they head down to the Southeast to take on a variety of Stanley Cup contenders starting with the Florida Panthers. After two tough losses to the Washington Capitals and the expansion Seattle Kraken, the Panthers bounced back against the Caps, winning 5-4. They’ll hope to continue the same wrath they produced earlier in the season as they face a Buffalo Sabres team that’s not quite ready to compete.
Despite a couple of tough losses, the Sabres have been impressed with the play of Jeff Skinner, who has had five points in the last three games. They hope to give him some support as the Sabres will face a Panthers team that’s been electric on offense, leading the league in total goals scored. While the Sabres are capable of putting up a fight, I expect the Panthers to take care of business at home.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers -1.5 (-108)
St. Louis Blues @ Tampa Bay Lightning – 7.00PM ET
The St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning go at it again after playing each other last time out. In that previous game, it was the Blues that came out victorious, 4-3, in a shootout. Can the Lightning get revenge, or will the Blues go two from two?
Denis Kirilov
The match between the St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning promises to be a very special event on Thursday night in the NHL. Both teams are looking good in the current standings as the Blues are 4th in the West with 27 points out of 22 matches, while the Lightning are 6th in the highly competitive Eastern Conference. The reigning champions are on a 2-game losing streak ahead of this game, losing consecutively to the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues. Their match on Tuesday was pretty even as the Blues managed to make an incredible comeback for the final 4-3 after overtime. They erased a 3-goal deficit suffered in the first six minutes of the match.
Their second meeting for the 2021/22 NHL season seems to be a narrow fight down the wire once again. I think that they will share a victory as the Lightning will take what’s theirs in Amalie Arena. They are on a 5-game winning streak at home and it’s not easy for their opponents to play here. The Blues, on the other hand, haven’t won away from home in 4 straight games and I believe these are enough reasons to trust Tampa in their rematch against St. Louis.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-160)
Tony Battalio
This will be the second game in a row between these two teams this time they will meet in Tampa Bay. In their last contest, St. Louis came out on top; they scored a shootout victory after the game was tied at three at the end of regulation. Now they will meet again as both of these teams want to continue to try and establish themselves as potential Stanley Cup contenders this season. However Tampa Bay’s chances of the threepeat seem to be slipping away more and more with each game.
We’ll see you back at home on Thursday.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 1, 2021
St. Louis comes into this game with a record of 12-7-3 as their fast start to the year was cooled off by an average month of November, like many other top NHL teams. As for the Tampa Bay Lightning, they have rebounded from a slow start and have a record of 12-5-4, despite currently being on a two game losing streak. As for the winner in this one, I look for St. Louis to pick up their second straight win over the two time defending champions in what could potentially be another shootout victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: St. Louis Blues (+132)
Michael Lantz
In a rematch of Tuesday night’s game, the St. Louis Blues play the Tampa Bay Lightning, this time in Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. On Tuesday, St. Louis got the best of the Lightning winning 4-3. It was Tampa Bay’s second straight loss after they recorded consecutive shutouts. As I’ve said many times, this Tampa team has been inconsistent, and I feel that has a lot to do with them knowing what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. Still, it’s not like they aren’t trying. They need to show the league that they are still a team to be feared, as the competition level continues to rise and teams continue to make the jump from good to great.
Meanwhile, the Blues are looking to go on a positive streak after they lost seven of nine in mid to late November. Before their win over the Lightning, they enjoyed a satisfying 6-3 win over the Blue Jackets last Saturday. Are the Blues back to their early season ways? A consecutive win against the Stanley Cup champs would definitely help their case. But back at home, I’ll go with this Lightning team that has Andrei Vasilevskiy in front of the net and a defense that recently showed its shutout capabilities.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-160)
Chicago Blackhawks @ Washington Capitals – 7.00PM ET
The Chicago Blackhawks hit the road when they take on the Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks are really struggling on the road this season, with their road record sitting at 2-7-1, and they are sitting in second last place in the Western Division. The Capitals on the other hand, are in first place in the Metropolitan Division, with a season record of 14-4-5.
Denis Kirilov
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals are two really contrasting teams at the moment. The Capitals are 3rd in the East, fighting for first place as they are just 2 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs. They have one of the best attacks in the NHL that scored 82 goals for 23 games. Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson lead the team in offensive positions, while John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov are the backbone of their defense who also help in the build up of their attacks. The team looks fantastic and if they somehow manage to transfer this form into the Playoffs in the spring, they will look deadly there.
The Blackhawks are second-to-last in the West with just 16 points out of 21 matches. They managed to close the gap to the top 10, since they escaped the win less zone they were in at the beginning of the season. The team started off the campaign with 9 losses, they began to play well and went on a 4-game winning streak. They are certainly not a 14th-placed team as they have the potential to penetrate into the top 10. However, causing upsets in such games might further help them achieve what they want. Although the Capitals seem like clear favorites in this one, I am going to go with the Blackhawks and hope for an upset. I think it’s high-time they make a fantastic result against a top-tier team in the NHL.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Chicago Blackhawks (+172)
Tony Battalio
The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough start to the year, As it took them nine games to pick up their first victory of the season. However, since that victory on November 1st they have gone 6-5 throughout the rest of the month of November. That strong month brought their record to an overall mark of 7-12-2 as they look to continue to claw their way back to the .500 mark after the first quarter mark of the 2021-22 season. This game against the Washington Capitals will be the first game of the 3 game road trip that includes two straight stops in New York City to take on the Rangers and Islanders. They will look to put together another decent month as they try to climb back into the playoff bubble situation.
The Washington Capitals come into this match up with Chicago possessing a record of 14-4-5. They have been led the season by potential most valuable player Alexander Ovechkin. He seems to be scoring goals at will as he moves towards breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time scoring record. They closed out the month of November winning three of their last four games. As for the result of this one, I’ll look for the Washington Capitals and pick up a home win and for Alexander Ovechkin to find his way onto the scoreboard again.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-210)
Michael Lantz
After a brutal start to the season, the Chicago Blackhawks are back on track; even though 7-12-2 may not look that impressive, it’s a huge improvement over the 0-7-2 record they started with. Chicago looks to slowly creep back into the playoff picture as they take on a dynamic Washington Capitals team on Thursday night.
Washington is having another outstanding season. Alex Ovechkin is climbing up the all-time goals scored list, and is looking like a Hart Trophy candidate in the process. He’s also getting some excellent support from Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is also in the top ten for points scored this season. The Caps look hungry to get Ovechkin one more Stanley Cup with his window potentially closing soon. The Caps have proved their still a force, beating the Panthers and Hurricanes in back-to-back games, before falling in a rematch against the Panthers by one. They cannot overlook a Blackhawks team that’s starting to surge a bit. I expect Chicago to give them a tough time, but for the Caps to ultimately pull off the win at home.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-210)
New Jersey Devils @ Minnesota Wild – 8.00PM ET
The New Jersey Devils have a two game road trip to start the month of December, and their first stop is Minnesota where they take on the Wild. The Devils have won just one of their last four games, taking their season record to 9-7-4. The Wild on the other hand, are on a four game winning streak, with wins against the Devils, Jets, Lightning and Coyotes.
Denis Kirilov
The Minnesota Wild will have a fantastic chance to grab 1st place in the Western Conference after Thursday night in the NHL. They host the New Jersey Devils at Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul. The teams have had quite different journeys so far. The Wild are second in the West with 31 points, while the Devils find themselves in 11th place in the East with just 22 points. Minnesota comes into this match on a fantastic 4-0 run as they simply dismantled teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Winnipeg Jets. The first win of this streak came against their upcoming opponents, the Devils. The game ended after a penalty-shootout in which Kevin Fiala made the difference scoring the winning goal for the Wild.
Minnesota has been quite dominant at home recently, scoring 23 goals for the last 4 games and at the same time, conceding just 7 goals. I think this trend will continue as they will find a way past the New Jersey Devils once again. I have the Wild to win this game by a larger margin, so I will suggest picking them to cover their spread. In my opinion, this option provides us with the best value and it shouldn’t be missed.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild -1.5 (+142)
Tony Battalio
After meeting just a week ago these two teams will tangle on the ice again this time in Minnesota. In their last match up it was the Minnesota Wild who prevailed over the New Jersey Devils by a score of 3 to 2 in a shootout. Both of these teams’ seasons seem to be heading in opposite directions as the Devils are currently 9-7-4, hovering below the .500 mark, while the Minnesota Wild are 15-6-1 and well above the .500 mark.
YOU LIKE THAT#mnwild pic.twitter.com/ZjZSAGowYL
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 1, 2021
The New Jersey Devils will hit the road for two games as they make a stop in Minnesota for this one. They have not been very successful as they close out the month of November. They lost three of their last four games to the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and the San Jose Sharks. Meanwhile Minnesota has won their last four games including that earlier victory over the Devils. As for the result of this one, I expect more of the same from last time as I expect the Wild to pick up another win this time at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-184)
Michael Lantz
Minnesota continues to become one of the NHL’s best teams. At 15-6-1, they are winners of four straight as they look to continue their streak against a New Jersey Devils team that they just slipped by on November 24th. At 9-7-4 the Devils continue to be a tough one to put a finger on. Regardless of their on-ice performance, fans have to be thrilled with the play of youngsters Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer who are second and third on the team in scoring respectively.
The Devils look like they’ve taken big strides from last season, and with a young roster they’ll continue to be a problem for years to come. As aforementioned, they played the Wild quite well on November 24th; they’ll look to make adjustments to have the score go in their favor this time around. That being said, it’ll be a rough game against a Wild team that’s dialed in and playing at home. As much as I want to pick the spread in the Devil’s favor, I’ve seen too many positives from the Wild’s way to not pick their moneyline.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-184)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
