Free NHL Picks Today for Thursday, November 2nd, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Thursday, November 2nd 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!

Los Angeles Kings @ Ottawa Senators – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

Los Angeles will be looking to add to their decent start to the season with a victory on the road in Ottawa here on Thursday evening. They come into this game with five victories, their first nine games of the season and their pair of overtime losses has earned them a pair of crucial points as well. As Los Angeles comes into this game with a total of 12 points out of a possible 18, which is fantastic for them throughout the first 10 games of this brand new season. They will be looking to keep the momentum rolling here in this one on the road in Canada on Thursday night as they look for a victory over the Ottawa Senators. They come into this game on a one game winning streak, and as winners of three of their last four games on the year, they will be looking to grab a second consecutive victory here tonight. 

The Ottawa Senators come into this game looking to put a stop to the momentum of the Los Angeles Kings at home here on Thursday night. Ottawa is off to a pretty average start this season as they have split their first eight games of the year, and they come into this one with four victories, and four losses inside of regulation. They just snapped a three game losing streak in their previous contest with a victory over Pittsburgh, and they will be looking to keep it going with a second consecutive victory over Los Angeles here on Thursday night at home. They will have to clean up their play on the defensive end of the ice as they give up an average of three goals per game and that is not something that they can maintain and still pick up victories throughout the year. However, I expect them to get it going in the right direction with a victory here on Thursday at home over Los Angeles.

Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Rangers – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

Carolina comes into this game looking to grab a crucial early-season victory on the road against the New York Rangers here on Thursday night. They are off to a respectable start this season as they come into this game with six victories through their first 10 games of the year and they will be looking to make it seven out of 11 with another quality performance here against New York on the road. Carolina comes into this game sitting in second place of the division and it is the New York Rangers that sit ahead of them at top the division and Carolina will be looking to unseat them with a victory here on Thursday night on the road at Madison Square Garden. They come into this game on a three game winning streak and they will be looking to extend it to a fourth game with a victory here in this one.

The New York Rangers will be looking to put some distance between themselves and Carolina with a victory here on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes at home. It has been a solid start of the season for New York as they come into this game with seven victories, and their first nine games of the season and they will be looking to make an eight out of ten with a quality performance here at home on Thursday. They have been pretty stellar on both ends of the ice, but Carolina comes into this game averaging around three goals per game, and New York will have to find a way to keep them out of the back of the net if they want to grab a victory in this one. That is exactly what I expect as I look for New York to shut down Carolina or keep them to a minimum and grab a victory in this hard fought divisional match up on Thursday. 

New York Islanders @ Washington Capitals – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Islanders come into this game, looking to grab a road victory in Washington DC against the Capitals here on Thursday night as they look to get the momentum rolling on this young season. It has been a pretty average start of the season for the New York Islanders as they have picked up four victories, but they have managed to grab a pair of overtime losses as well, which has led to them getting a couple of crucial points early on in the year. They are playing pretty solid on the defensive end of the ice, but they would like to up their offensive production as they are only averaging around two goals per game this season, and they will have to maintain a better scoring pace if they want to continue grabbing victories throughout the year. 

Washington is not having an ideal start to the season, and they will be looking for a crucial victory at home here on Thursday night to get the momentum rolling. They have split their first eight games of the season, and they come into this game with only four victories, and they will be looking to grab a fifth victory on the year where they win here on Thursday night. They suffered a massive blow earlier in the day on Wednesday when their captain Nicklas Backstrom announced he was stepping away from the game because of several injuries he picked up throughout his legendary career. Unfortunately for Washington I still don’t see things getting better for them. In the meantime, I look for the New York Islanders to grab a victory on the road here on Thursday night. 

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

Tampa Bay will be looking to come into Columbus and pick up a solid early season victory to get the momentum rolling. They will likely be looking to make this one uncompetitive as they have yet to forget about the time Columbus knocked them out of the playoffs in a straight sweep four years ago. They are in desperate need of some momentum after their slow start to the season, and they will be looking to pick up a crucial victory on the road as they look to get back to form and compete for their third Stanley Cup trophy in the last five seasons. Tampa Bay comes into this game with only four victories through their first seven games of the year and they will be looking for their fifth victory of the season against a struggling Columbus team, as both teams are stuck in the mud early on in the year. 

Columbus comes into this game looking to get the wheels spinning as well as they are off to a frustrating start throughout their first several games of the season. After a poor season last year that had a lot of hope surrounding it because of the arrival of Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus came into this year with plenty of expectations. They will be looking to grab a huge momentum boosting victory here on Thursday night at home against a team that they are very familiar with throughout the last several seasons. They come into this game with a nearly identical record of Tampa Bay, but they have only picked up three victories through their first seven games of the season. I expect this one to be high scoring regardless of the outcome and that is why I have it going over the total goals line here on Thursday night in Columbus.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for a quality early season victory when they travel to Boston to play the Bruins at TD Garden. This is a marquee match up early on in the year in the Eastern Conference in both of these teams will be looking for a massive momentum boosting victory here in this one, as this is a potential preview of a future playoff series later on this year. It has been a pretty average start of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they come into this game with five victories through their first nine games of the year and they will be looking to grab a sixth victory and their first 10 games of the season when they win here in Boston on Thursday night. They will also be looking to break a two game losing streak in the process.

The Boston Bruins come into this game off to a quality start this season and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling here on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston is off to an absolutely incredible start as they have picked up eight victories and their first nine games of the season and even their one loss came in overtime which earned them a hard fought one point. They have earned a total of 17 points out of a maximum 18 points through their first nine games of the year and they will be looking to pick up another two points with a victory here on Thursday night at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. One year after setting a record for the most victories in a regular season Boston is on pace to break that record and I expect them to add another victory to that total with a win here in this game as well.

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