Free NHL Picks Today for Thursday, October 12th, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Thursday, October 12th 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!

New York Rangers @ Buffalo Sabres – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Rangers put together a quality season last year, and they will be looking to kick off this campaign with another victory on the road against the Buffalo Sabres here on Thursday night. New York is a couple key pieces away from competing for a Stanley Cup and they will be hoping that they added those pieces over the off-season, and this year ends up being the magical year that they finally bring home another championship. They finished last season in third place of the Metropolitan division and during regulation they had a solid record, but they will have to clean up their overtime losses after ending up with 13 of them by the time the regular season came to a close. Cleaning up their losses and overtime would allow them to finish higher up in the division and potentially get a favorable playoff matchup in the opening few rounds.

The Buffalo Sabres have long been one of the worst teams in the league and it doesn’t seem like that is going to change anytime soon. Their owners have certainly ran this franchise as well into the ground, which is weird when you consider they also own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and you see the success that they are having out on the football field. However, they just can’t seem to get things right with the Buffalo Sabres and barring some type of miracle it will likely be another long year for Buffalo this season. However, Buffalo was able to defeat New York twice last season thanks to a pair of overtime victories, but I don’t see that being the case in this game as I look for the New York Rangers to pick up the victory here on Thursday night to open up the year.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Philadelphia Flyers are still in the middle of a rebuilding process and they have a long way to go before they are once again a competitive team in the National Hockey League. They will be looking to open up the season on the road with a victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets here on Thursday night as they look to get off to a solid start this year and gain as much momentum as possible early on in the season. This Philadelphia team is a far cry from the Philadelphia teams of old that used to dominate the league with their physicality and win championships. Philadelphia will be helping for a somewhat successful season to get things trending in the right direction once again. 

Last off-season Columbus made a massive splash when they went out and signed Johnny Gaudreau to a huge contract. He was seen as a guy who could instantly transform the hockey landscape in Columbus, and then alongside him. They re-signed Patrick Laine, which only further proved that Columbus was going all in at an opportunity to be a successful team. Unfortunately for Columbus they were just never able to put things together and injuries derailed their season early on in the year as well. They will be hoping they can open up your number two of the Johnny Gaudreau experiment with a quality performance here on Thursday night at home against Philadelphia. That is exactly what I expect as I have Columbus picking up the victory here in this one to open up the year.

Detroit Red Wings @ New Jersey Devils – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was a less than respectable season for the Detroit Red Wings last year, and they will be looking to be a lot better this time around as they open up this brand new campaign on the road in New Jersey against the Devils. Detroit was a middle of the pack team and they were arguably out of playoff contention by the time they All-Star break came around last season which is something they will need to improve upon this season if they want to keep people interested in the product and show that they are making progress in their rebuilding process. Detroit finished last season with only 35 victories which is something that they will need to surpass about midway through the season if they want to be in the playoff race by the time the end of the regular season comes around this year.

The New Jersey Devils had a solid year last season, but they will be looking to improve upon their campaign and get this new campaign off on the right foot with a victory at home against the Detroit Red Wings here on Thursday night. New Jersey finished as the runners up in their division, and in third place of the stern Conference, and they will be looking to improve upon their performance this season by winning the Eastern Conference, and winning the Metropolitan division as well. This is a solid team with plenty of upside as they mix veterans with young players who are ready to contribute, and I expected to pay off for them in this game on Thursday night as I look for them to pick up the victory over Detroit.

St.Louis Blues @ Dallas Stars – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was a less than respectable season for the St. Louis Blues last year, but they have a lot that they can improve upon and they will be looking to take the next step this season. If they want to get things off on the right foot, it starts with a victory in the opening game of the season on the road against the Dallas Stars here on Thursday night. The St. Louis Blues finished in the lower middle half of the pack in the Western Conference last season and their regular season performance left a lot to be desired from the team that plenty of people had high hopes for coming into last season. They will be looking to grab their first victory of the season as they look to surpass last year’s total of 37 rather quickly this year. 

The Dallas Stars had a quality season last year and they will be looking to pick up where they left off with a victory over the St. Louis blues here on Thursday night at home. Dallas finished in the top half of the Western Conference, and in second place of the Central division, and they will be looking to further prove why they deserve to be talked about as a potential Stanley Cup winner, as they look to win the Central division this season. It was a solid run through the playoffs for Dallas last season as well as they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in six games. I expect Dallas to pick up where they left off last season and grab a victory here at home against St. Louis on Thursday.

Florida Panthers @ Minnesota Wild – 8PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was a solid campaign last year for the Florida Panthers, and they will be looking to have an even better season this year, and it starts with grabbing a victory on the road against the Minnesota Wild here on Thursday night. Florida has been one of the most consistent teams in the league over the last three or so seasons and they will be looking to continue their solid run of play but this time they will be looking to cap it off with a Stanley cup rather than an early playoff exit like they have experienced over the last couple of years. They grabbed the last playoff spot in the eastern conference, and they will be looking to finish further in the pecking order this season with some quality performances in road games, which is something they struggled with last year. 

The Minnesota Wild will be looking to open up this brand new season with a victory over the Florida Panthers here on Thursday night at home. They were in the middle of the PAC team last season after finishing third in their division and sixth in the conference, and they will be looking to improve upon that final spot with another quality season and some more consistency throughout these 82 regular season games. They picked up 25 victories at home last season out of 41 games and they will be looking to continue making their home ice a tough place to play for visiting opponents. That is what I expect in this game as I look for them to pick up the victory over the Florida Panthers here on Thursday night to open up the season.

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