Free NHL Picks Today for Thursday, December 7th, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Thursday, December 7th 2023! Make sure you check our NHL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NHL picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Buffalo Sabres @ Boston Bruins – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

Buffalo will head to TD Garden here on Thursday night and look to pick up an upset victory over the Boston Bruins as they look to get some momentum rolling throughout the early part of December. It has been an underwhelming start to the regular season for Buffalo, but they are much improved compared to how they’ve been over the last several years. As they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league for the last four or five seasons. They are starting to show a little bit of progress in their rebuild, and they will be looking to continue building on that with a victory here in this game on Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. Buffalo comes into this game with 10 victories through their first 26 games of the season and they will be looking for their 11th one of the year here on Thursday night in Boston at TD Garden. Buffalo will be looking to snap a four game losing streak with a victory here in this one and they will need to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice if they want to grab the victory against Boston.

The Boston Bruins are off to a fantastic start to the regular season, despite a couple of struggles throughout the last week and a half. Less than a year after breaking the single-season records for most victories in a regular season, they look to be on pace to re-break the record this season as they will be looking to continue building up momentum throughout this game on Thursday night at home against Buffalo. Boston comes into this game sitting in first place of the Atlantic division, and they will be looking to further extend their lead with another victory here on Thursday night at home against a struggling Sabres team. Boston comes into this game with plenty of momentum after winning three consecutive games, and they will be looking for a fourth consecutive victory here on Thursday night in front of their home fans, where they’ve been very tough to beat over the last two seasons. That is exactly what I expect out of Boston here on Thursday night against Buffalo as I look for them, but not only only pick up the victory at home, but also cover the spread in the process.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Toronto Maple Leafs came into this season with high expectations of making a deep run into the playoffs, and potentially competing for a Stanley Cup title as well. They are off to an above average start to the regular season as they come into this game hovering above .500 through their first 22 games of the year. They’re coming to this game looking to head on the road to Ottawa and pick up their 13th victory of the season as they look to keep the momentum rolling in the right direction throughout the month of December. They currently sit in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic division, and they will be looking to move further up the standings where they quality performance here in this one, as they look to also put Ottawa further in the basement with another victory here on Thursday night as well. Toronto will be hoping to finish. This game and regulation is four out of their last five games on the season have ended either overtime or a shootout, and all that extra hockey will not be good for them by the time the end of the season comes around if that trend continues. 

The Ottawa Senators come into this game, looking to get a huge momentum boosting victory at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs and pick up their second victory of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs as well. Ottawa is off to a very rough start to the regular season as they come into this game as one of the worst teams in the league throughout the early part of the year. They will be looking to get things turned around and headed in the right direction and it starts with picking up a victory over their Canadian rivals here on Thursday night at home. These two teams met earlier on in November and it was Ottawa that put six goals into the net to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto and they will be hoping to replicate that performance here on Thursday night at home. Ottawa does have a little bit of momentum coming into this game after picking up back-to-back wins over the Seattle Kraken and the New York Rangers at home. However, I do look for their luck to run out in this game on Thursday night as I look for the Toronto Maple Leafs to come into Ottawa and pick up the victory.

Winnipeg Jets @ Colorado Avalanche  – 9PM ET

Tony Battalio

Winnipeg is off to a quality start to the regular season and they will be looking for a statement victory here on Thursday night south of the border in Colorado. If Winnipeg maintains the pace of play they are playing at throughout the early part of the regular season. They have a chance to finish as the best Canadian team in the NHL this season, and that is certainly challenging going up against teams like Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto, who are all contenders this year as well. Winnipeg comes into this game looking to get a huge victory on the road here on Thursday night as they look to further establish themselves as a legitimate contender to the Stanley Cup this season. Winnipeg comes into this game with 14 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will be looking for win number 15 here in Denver on Thursday night. They come into this game on a two game winning streak, but they need to improve how they’ve played on the road throughout the early part of the season if they want to remain consistent and competitive this year. 

Colorado has found themselves off the way quality start to the season as well. They will also look to keep the momentum rolling with a solid victory here at home against Winnipeg. Losing in the opening round of the post is after winning the Stanley Cup two years ago has left a sour taste in the mouth of Colorado, and they will be looking to further establish themselves as a contender to win their second title in the last three years with a victory here on Thursday night at home. Colorado comes into this game with 16 victories through their first 25 games of the regular season and they will be looking to grab a 17th victory here at home on Thursday night. They are a very tough team to beat at home, and they will be looking to further prove that narrative to be true with another quality performance against the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado will also be looking to extend their lead within the division as they currently sit on top of the Central division, while Winnipeg sits in third place. That is exactly what I expect as I look for the Avalanche to pick up the victory at home in this close and competitive game.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Calgary Flames – 9PM ET

Tony Battalio

Carolina is off to a fantastic start to the regular season and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling when they head north of the border to play Calgary here on Thursday night. The Hurricanes have been tender over the last several seasons, but they have not been serious enough to potentially compete for a Stanley Cup title. If they maintain the pace they are playing at throughout the early part of the year that narrative is going to change throughout the season. They will be looking to further push the narrative that they are legitimate contenders with a victory here in this one. Carolina comes into this game with 14 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and then they will be looking for their 15th one of the year here on Thursday night in Calgary. If they want to maintain that success throughout the season however they need to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice. Their Canadian road trip did not get off on the right start after dropping a game to Winnipeg and they will be looking to get back on track with a victory here in this one. 

Calgary is having a rough start of the year which has been unusual for a team that has been a potential contender over the last several seasons. They will be looking for a huge momentum, boosting victory with a quality performance here at home on Thursday night against Carolina as they look to get things going on the right track before heading into the rest of December. This is a Calgary team that has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play throughout the early part of the regular season, and they have plenty of time to turn things around if they want to remain competitive, but it will need to happen quickly. Calgary comes into this game five games below the .500 mark through their first 25 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 11th victory of the year here on Thursday night at home against Carolina. They will be looking to break this current two game losing streak they are on but unfortunately I don’t see that happening in this game as I look for Carolina to pick up the victory here in Calgary on Thursday night.

Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

Minnesota has traditionally been a contender, but they are off to a rather rough start to the regular season, and they will be looking to get as much momentum as possible throughout the month of December. It starts with grabbing a victory here north of the border in Vancouver on Thursday night against a very solid Vancouver Canucks team as Minnesota looks to get things rolling in the right direction. They come into this game five games below the .500 mark through their first 23 games of the regular season and they will be looking for their 10th victory of the year here on Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks. This has been far from the norm for Minnesota throughout the early part of the year as they have been one of the best teams in hockey over the last several seasons, but inconsistency and injuries have hurt them throughout the early part of the regular season so far. They will be looking to overcome those issues and pick up a solid victory here on Thursday night against the Canucks on the road as they look to grab another victory after picking up a win in their previous game.

It has been a fantastic start to the regular season for the Vancouver Canucks, and they will be looking to maintain that momentum with another victory here on Thursday night at home. Vancouver has gotten off to a solid start to the regular season, and they have established themselves as one of the top teams in the league throughout the early part of the year. They will be looking to keep it going throughout the rest of December as they look for a victory over Minnesota at home here on Thursday night. Vancouver comes into this game currently sitting in second place of the division, and they will be looking to gain ground on the defending Stanley Cup champions with another quality victory here on Thursday night at home. Vancouver comes into this game with 16 victories through their first 26 games of the regular season and they will be looking for win number 17 here on Thursday night. They will also be looking to bounce back after losing to New Jersey and their previous game and that is exactly what I expect as I look for them to snap Minnesota’s four game win streak and pick up the win. 

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.