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 you mustn’t miss any of the action!
Here at SportsTips, we are just as keen on the NHL as you are! We spend 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.
Arizona Coyotes @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7.00PM ET
The road trip continues for the Arizona Coyotes who will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. The Coyotes have, surprisingly, won four of their last five, and are on a three-game winning streak, which takes their overall season record to 17-35-4. The Maple Leafs have won their last two games, against the Blue Jackets and Kraken.
Marko Nadin
The Toronto Maple Leafs are fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 37-16-4 record. They have won the last two games and are coming off a 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken. The Maple Leafs are 4th in the league scoring 3.7 goals per game. Toronto has won 4 of the last 5 games coming in after one day’s rest and 9 of the last 12 games against teams with a record below 40%. Toronto is only 5 points behind Florida which is on top of the conference and will cut that difference with a win against Arizona.
The Arizona Coyotes are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 17-35-4 record. If you have seen only the last two games of the Arizona Coyotes, you may think that they are championship contenders, not the team with the worst record in the league. Arizona won 8-5 and 9-2 in their last two games and the score might be the same when they visit Toronto but they will be on the losing side this time. Arizona scores only 2.5 goals per game which rank them second-worst in the league.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-450)
Tony Battalio
The Arizona Coyotes have been the worst team in the league throughout the season. However, they have been playing much better as of late as they have won four of their last five games of the season. They have put up a combined 17 goals in their last two games against the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators. Even with their recent form being much improved, it is way too late in the season for it to make a difference as they are currently still at the bottom of the Central division.
This one’s for Simmer 🚂#LeafsForever | @LGCanada pic.twitter.com/0P4ORvLhmQ
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 9, 2022
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the better teams in the National Hockey League this season. As they come into this game with a record of 37-16-4 through their first 57 games of the season. They are one of the favorites in a loaded Eastern Conference to make a run at this year’s Stanley Cup Trophy and dethrone the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are currently in third place in the Atlantic division at the moment. Toronto is currently on a two-game losing streak after beating Columbus and Seattle in back-to-back games. As for the result of this one I have Toronto getting the victory in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-450)
Jeffery Thomas
The surprise of March so far has to be the Arizona Coyotes who have won all 3 of their games despite being second to last in the NHL in points. They have scored a total of 17 goals in their last two games, an 8-5 win over Ottawa and a 9-2 win over the Red Wings in Detroit. That Detroit game was the start of a 5-game road trip for the Coyotes who aren’t playing for anything this year but are having fun out there. The Maple Leafs are winners of two straight after a couple of bad losses to the Sabres and Canucks to start the month.
They took down the Kraken at home 6-4 in their last game on the back of Auston Matthews’ third hat trick of the season. The Leafs’ record now sits at 37-16-4 which is good for 3rd place in the Atlantic Division. Chasing the Leafs at an over -400 price is not worth it with how inconsistent they have been lately and how well Arizona is playing. I also don’t want to back the Coyotes on the spread with how dangerous Toronto is on offense. But with how electric both offenses have been playing lately, the best play for me is the over, which we should be able to cash pretty easily as both team’s defenses have struggled.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Over 6.5 (-134)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Florida Panthers – 7.00PM ET
The Philadelphia Flyers kick off a tough two-game road trip with a game against the Florida Panthers, and then their next game against the Hurricanes. The Flyers will be looking to build on their two-game winning streak, as they have wins over the Blackhawks and Golden Knights. The Panthers have won their last four games in a row, and this takes their overall season record to 39-13-5.
Marko Nadin
After a short crisis at the end of February, the Florida Panthers have bounced back on top of the Eastern Conference with 83 points as many as the Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers have won the last 4 games and are coming off a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Florida is the best scoring team in the league with 4.1 goals per game on 36.8 shots on goal. Florida has won 5 of the last 7 games against Philadelphia. They have won the last 7 games when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
The Philadelphia Flyers are 13th in the Eastern Conference with an 18-28-10 record. After winning only 2 games in February, the Flyers won the last two games, most recently 2-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Flyers are ranked third-worst in the league with 2.5 goals per game and with only 13.5% power-play conversion. Philadelphia has lost 22 of the last 30 road games and 23 of the last 26 against Eastern Conference teams.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-335)
Tony Battalio
It has been a very rough year for the Philadelphia Flyers. They come into this game with a record of 18-28-10 as they are 20 games below the .500 mark through their first 56 games of the season. The Flyers currently find themselves in the basement of the Metropolitan division. Philadelphia is currently on a game-winning streak after beating the Chicago Blackhawks and Las Vegas Golden Knights in back-to-back games. They will be looking to get another victory in this one against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League.
A winfographic for your Wednesday 😸#TimeToHunt | #FLAvsPIT pic.twitter.com/dV3w8zILQM
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 9, 2022
The Florida Panthers have been playing great this season as they are one of the favorites to dethrone the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida comes into this game with a record of 39-13-5 through their first 57 games of the season. They are currently in first place in the Atlantic division at the moment. Florida is currently on a four-game winning streak heading into this one. As for the result of this game I have them getting the win and extending the streak to five.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-335)
Jeffery Thomas
The Flyers are having a rare good stretch of hockey, winning two straight games over the Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday and Tuesday. In the Vegas game they were outplayed by a ton, but thanks to goalie Carter Hart and his 47 saves, they were able to escape with the victory. He will need a similar performance to keep it close with this very dangerous Florida Panthers team, especially at home. The Panthers are averaging a ridiculous 4.13 goals a game and have a very strong case for the best team in the NHL. They are riding a four-game winning streak and during that span have scored 19 goals.
Florida’s 39-13-5 record has them sitting at 1st place in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. Florida has every advantage in every statistical category in this game and is at home. These teams have also already met twice this season, with Florida winning both and holding the Flyers to a combined 3 goals. This game will not be close and there’s no need to overthink it, give me the Panthers big.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers -1.5 (-132)
Colorado Avalanche @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7.00PM ET
The Colorado Avalanche will be wrapping up their three-game road trip on Thursday night when they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Avalanche have lost three of their last four games and this takes their overall season record to 41-12-5. The Hurricanes have won their last two games in a row against the Penguins and Kraken.
Marko Nadin
The Carolina Hurricanes are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 39-12-5 record. They have won 7 of the last 9 games and are coming off a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken. The Hurricanes are the best defensive team in the league allowing only 2.4 goals per game and defending 88.9% when being short-handed. Carolina has won 9 of the last 12 games playing after 3 or more days off. They have played under the total goals margin in 5 of the last 6 games and 18 of the last 27 games against Western Conference opponents.
The Colorado Avalanche is the best team in the league with a 41-12-5 record. They are going through a difficult period of the season losing 3 of the last 4 games but they still have a 12 points advantage over the second-placed Calgary Flames. The Avalanche are coming off a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Colorado has won the last 7 games after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game and 10 of the last 13 road games. 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: Under 6 (+112)
Tony Battalio
This is going to be the best game on the Thursday night slate, and it is a night that is full of great games to go along with it. As the Colorado Avalanche will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in this one. Colorado is the best team in the National Hockey League at the moment. They were the preseason favorites to win the Stanley Cup and they are the current Stanley Cup favorites. Colorado comes into this game with a record of 41-12-5 through their first 58 games of the season. Colorado is currently on a string of bad form as they’ve lost two of their last three games.
Back to work. Ready for more. 😤 pic.twitter.com/n9f41bDeVf
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 9, 2022
The Carolina Hurricanes come into this game in first place in the Metropolitan division. They have a record of 39-12-5 through their first 56 games of the season. Carolina is currently on a two-game winning streak after kicking off the Seattle Kraken and Pittsburgh Penguins in back-to-back games. Carolina is one of the main favorites in the Eastern Conference this season. As for the result of this game I have the Carolina Hurricanes got the victory over the Colorado Avalanche with home-ice advantage playing a big part in the outcome of this game.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-110)
Jeffery Thomas
It’s been a very uncharacteristic stretch for the Avalanche who have lost three of their last four games. Even that one win during that stretch was a near collapse when they held a 5-1 lead over the Islanders before conceding 3 goals in the final 10 minutes to make it sweat. It makes you think that maybe they just are going through the motions out there since they already have a 12-point cushion over the Flames in the Western Conference so there’s not much motivation for them in these games right now. This huge matchup of two powerhouse teams, however, could bring the best out of Colorado, as they’ll travel to Carolina to face the Eastern Conference-leading (tied with Florida) Hurricanes.
The Canes are 2-0 so far on their four-game homestand with wins over the Penguins and Kraken, both by a score of 3-2. They’ll be nice and rested, having not played since Sunday night. I am banking on the Avs being motivated in this spot to get a statement victory that will remind the league they are still the best team in the NHL. They have so much offensive talent all over their roster and when they decide they want to give it their all, there’s not a team that can keep pace with them and that’s exactly what Carolina will witness on Thursday night. Getting a price this good on the Avs is too good to pass up and I am jumping all over this line as I don’t see them not getting up for this one.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-110)
New York Rangers @ St. Louis Blues – 8.00PM ET
The road trip continues for the New York Rangers, who on Thursday will go toe-to-toe with the St. Louis Blues. The Rangers had their three-game winning streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Wild, 2-5. The Blues will be desperate to stop their skid, as they have currently lost four games in a row.
Marko Nadin
The St. Louis Blues are third in the Western Conference with a 32-17-7 record. The Blues have lost the last four games after winning the previous four. They are coming off a 4-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators to tie the longest losing streak of the season. The Blues are seventh in the league scoring 3.5 goals per game while converting over 25% of the power plays which ranks them third in the league. The Blues have won 5 of the last 6 games after losing the previous game by at least 3 goals difference.
The New York Rangers are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 36-16-5 record. The Rangers’ three-game winning streak was snapped in their last game with a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. New York won the last game against St. Louis 5-3 in January. The Rangers have the third-best defense in the league allowing only 2.5 goals per game. They have won the last 6 games following a loss of three or more goals. The Rangers have played under the total goals margin in 12 of the last 17 games against teams from the Western Conference.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Under 5.5 (-104)
Tony Battalio
The New York Rangers come into this game as one of the biggest surprises of the 2021-22 National Hockey League season. They currently find themselves occupying one of the playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They have a record on the season of 36-16-5 through their first 57 games of the season. The Rangers currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division at the moment. They are six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead.
📍 Wednesday work in St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/0Tykf62uqx
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 9, 2022
The St. Louis Blues are coming into this game with a record of 32-17-7 through their first 56 games of the season. They have spent time on top of the Central division at different points that season but now have settled into second place. They are currently on a four-game losing streak, however, after losing games to the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers, as they had an extremely rough East Coast road trip. Now the Blues will be looking to bounce back in this one. As for the result of this game, however, I don’t see it happening as I have the Rangers getting another win over the Blues.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+105)
Jeffery Thomas
The Rangers had their 3-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday in a 5-2 loss to the Wild in Minnesota. They were resting star goalie Igor Shesterkin for this one so that was a big reason why. They’re still 8-3-1 in the last 12 games and over their last 14 games, Mika Zibanejad has scored seven goals and nine assists. The Blues went into March on a 4-game winning streak but have yet to get that first win of the new month after four tries. On Tuesday night Ottawa came into St. Louis and snagged a 4-1 win over the Blues, giving them their longest losing streak of the season. Despite that, the Blues are still sitting at 2nd place in the Central Division with 71 points.
The start of the Blues’ losing streak was a 5-3 loss to these Rangers just about a week ago so they’ll surely have revenge on their minds. That one was in New York, where the Rangers are very tough to beat but just shifting arenas won’t do much to change the result for me. Husso is seeming to be running out of gas down the stretch while Igor is the best goalie in the league and always seems to stand on his head when the Rangers need him most. I like getting this much value with the team that is in better form right now.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (+105)
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Calgary Flames – 9.00PM ET
The Tampa Bay Lightning are in game three of their six-game road trip, and on Thursday they travel to Calgary to take on the Flames. The Lightning has won seven of their last nine games, and this takes their overall season record to 37-13-6. The Flames have won two of their last four games, and they did go down to the Capitals, 4-5, last time out.
Marko Nadin
The Calgary Flames are second in the Western Conference with a 34-15-7 record. They have won 4 of the last 6 games but are coming off a 5-4 loss to the Washington Capitals. The Flames are the fifth-best scoring team in the league with 3.5 goals per game and the second-best defensive team allows 2.5 goals per game. The last time Calgary defeated the Lightning was back in 2018. Calgary has won the last 5 games against teams with a winning record of over 60% and 12 of the last 14 home games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are third in the Eastern Conference with a 37-13-6 record. They have won 7 of the last 9 games but are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The defending champions have won the last 5 games against Calgary. Tampa Bay is ranked sixth in the league with 3.5 goals per game. The Lightning has won 4 of the last 5 road games and 43 of the last 56 following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-122)
Tony Battalio
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game with a record of 37-13-6 through their first 56 games of the season. As they head towards the final stretch of the regular season, only one thing is on their mind and that is a three-peat of Stanley Cup Trophy and Eastern Conference victories. Tampa Bay started the year slow but has certainly picked it up as the season has progressed. They are currently sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division as they prepare to take on one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League.
Want to win a pair of tickets to tomorrow’s game vs. Tampa?
Of course you do.
Entering is simple: RT this post and reply with who you would bring to the game if you won.
We’ll randomly draw a winner this evening! pic.twitter.com/mULqin9tQs
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 9, 2022
The Calgary Flames come into this game sitting on top of the Pacific division as they have built up a somewhat comfortable lead. They are currently four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings moment with less than 30 games to play in the regular season. They currently have a record of 34-15-7 through their first 56 games of the season. They are coming into this one off of a loss after dropping their last game to the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-5 on Tuesday evening. As for the result of this one, however, I have them bouncing back with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (+102)
Jeffery Thomas
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play game 3 of their six-game road trip on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. So far they have split the first two games of the trip, beating the Blackhawks and losing to the Winnipeg Jets. In the Jets game, the score was tied at 3 going into the third period before Tampa conceded three straight to go down 6-3 and practically end any chance of them getting the win that night. It’s a tight race for the Atlantic Division crown between them and the Panthers who are in the first place, ahead by 3 points. The Calgary Flames suffered a rare loss for them on Tuesday when the Washington Capitals came into their home arena and beat them 5-4.
It was a truly squandered win, as the Flames were up 2-0 early in the second period and then 3-2 in the third before the Caps rallied to beat them on a very special night for Alex Ovechkin who tied Jaromir Jagr for third place all-time on the goals list. This will be the game of the night, with the hottest team in the league facing the 2-time defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Lightning coke in as short favorites and we honestly never get a price this low for them so it will be very enticing to jump at that opportunity. However, I can not bet against this Calgary team right now, even despite the loss in their last game, and even if they do lose I don’t see it being by more than a goal. This will be a very closely contested game either way so give me the Flames on the underdog spread.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames +1.5 (-265)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
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