Despite COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the NHL schedule, we are still lucky to have some games on today that aren’t postponed. 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.
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Columbus Blue Jackets – 7.00PM ET
The Tampa Bay Lightning wrap up their two game road trip on Tuesday when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning have hit a little blip in the road, and they are currently on a three game losing streak, with losses to the Panthers and Rangers (twice). The Blue Jackets have played twice since the return from the Christmas / COVID break, and they have won one and lost another, which takes their season record to 15-14-1.
Denis Kirilov
The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Columbus in an attempt to finally cut their 3-game losing streak. They have been quite hesitant following the Christmas break. The Lightning started off with an overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on December 28th. However, they failed to deliver in the upcoming games against the Panthers and the Rangers. On top of that, the loss against Florida was devastating as they conceded 9 goals for the first time in the last couple of seasons. They also went home empty-handed after losing 0-4 to the Rangers in their rematch at Madison Square Garden. The Lightning have lost the top spot in the Eastern Conference and they will surely try to take it back with a win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Columbus is looking at a bad run recently as they have won just 3 out of their last 12 games in the NHL. This put them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with just 31 points from 30 matches. However, after the Christmas break, they managed to defeat the Nashville Predators, 4-3, and led the Hurricanes by 4 goals halfway through the second period. Then, Carolina did the unthinkable and fought for a well-deserved comeback, scoring 7 unanswered goals. This will surely have an impact on the Blue Jackets in their next games and I think the Lightning will be able to use it to their advantage. I am going to say that Tampa Bay will take what’s theirs from this game and return to the top of the table.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lighting (-245)
Tony Battalio
The two time defending Stanley Cup Champions are coming into this game with a record of 21-8-5. They are finally starting to play up to the expectations they had before the season began. Now they will look to add another win against a struggling Columbus Blue Jackets team that was shockingly competitive in the beginning of the season. Tampa Bay has struggled as of late themselves too however. As they have lost their last three games since returning from the extended Christmas break. A loss to the Florida Panthers, turned into a couple of losses to the New York Rangers back to back and now the Lightning will be looking to snap a three game skid in this one.
Gotta love a lil friendly competition. 😈 pic.twitter.com/OWpjlqS7aw
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 3, 2022
The previously mentioned Columbus Blue Jackets are coming into this game with a record of 15-14-1 on the season. They are currently right at the .500 mark so far this year as their recent struggles has seen them drop off and out of playoff contention for the time being. In their last game they blew a 4-0 lead to the Carolina Hurricanes before going on to lose 4-7. The loss to Carolina was the third loss in the last four games for Columbus. As for the result of this game, I look for the Tampa Bay Lightning to snap their skid and hand the Blue Jackets yet another loss.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets (+198)
Michael Lantz
Right before the NHL’s pause in play, the Tampa Bay Lightning were starting to look like the team that won consecutive Stanley Cups. Unfortunately, since the league has resumed they’ve looked incredibly flat. They barely beat one of the league’s worst teams in the Montreal Canadiens and then were run over by the Florida Panthers and twice by the New York Rangers. Now, they hope to get back on track against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets came back from the league’s pause with an impressive 4-3 win against the streaking Nashville Predators. They scored four goals again in their next game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but unfortunately they gave up seven. Still, they’re not a team to look past, and with the way the Lightning have been playing, anything is possible in this one. For the first time in quite awhile I’m having a hard time convincing myself the Lightning can pull this off, but I think their 0-4 loss to the Rangers will be a slap in the face, and they’ll find a way to prevail in this one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-245)
Calgary Flames @ Florida Panthers – 7.00PM ET
The Calgary Flames hit the road on Tuesday night when they take on the Florida Panthers. The Flames have won both their games since coming back from the Christmas / COVID break, winning against the Kraken and Blackhawks. The Panthers are currently on a three game winning streak, which takes their season record to 21-7-4.
Denis Kirilov
The Calgary Flames travel to Florida on Tuesday to face off against the Panthers in one of the most intriguing contests in the NHL this season. Both teams have made huge statements to win the Stanley Cup next summer, but they will first have to escape the Regular Season. The Flames are currently 5th in the West with 40 points out of 30 games, while the Panthers sit in 4th place in the East with 46 points, accumulated in 32 matches. The Canadian team displays a more conservative approach this season, while the Panthers have one of the best attacks in the League. Only the Carolina Hurricanes (66) have less conceded goals than Calgary (67), while the Panthers (122) are just behind the Golden Knights (127) in most goals scored.
What makes this contest even more exciting is the fact that both rosters are almost back at 100%. The Panthers will miss Sam Bennett who is suspended for this match. Noel Acciari and Markus Nutivaara are still fighting with injuries, but the coach hasn’t used them that much anyway. The Flames can use each single player they like as the team have already gone through this tough COVID-19 outbreak. Both teams have been simply fantastic since the restart of the NHL after Christmas. The Panthers defeated the Rangers, the Lightning and the Canadiens in high fashion, while the Flames took two convincing wins away from home against the Kraken and the Blackhawks. In my opinion, we will see a high-scoring contest that will end up with more than 6 goals.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Over 6 (-114)
Tony Battalio
The Calgary Flames are coming in this game with a record of 17-7-6 on the season. Like most of the other Canadian teams, they have been heavily affected by the constant COVID-19 cancellations and postponements. Not only have the Flames already missed eight games in the month of December, they already have multiple games that are currently postponed in the month of January as well. Despite all the distractions and turmoil, the Flames have still managed to put together a decent season. They will be looking to extend their current two game winning streak with a victory in this one.
The Florida Panthers are coming into this game with a record of 21-7-4 on the season. Florida has been one of the top teams in the National Hockey League so far this season despite losing their coach around 15 games into the year. They appear to be one of the front runners in the loaded Eastern Conference, and could potentially be the one to dethrone the Tampa Bay Lightning as well. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up their fourth straight win, with a victory at home over the Flames.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-152)
Michael Lantz
The Calgary Flames have fluctuated quite a bit this year. They’ve continued to stay consistent on defense, but they’ve been on both solid winning streaks and rough losing skids. But since the league’s restart, they’ve gotten back to their winning ways, beating the Seattle Kraken 6-4 and the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. Even though they collected a nice four points between those two games, they’ll have a bit more of a challenge on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.
Florida is on a scoring demolition right now averaging six goals over their last three games. They might not have as much luck against a Calgary Flames team that have only let in 67 goals this year (the least in the NHL). On the contrary, they’ve struggled to consistently find goals for a good part of the season despite having an offense full of talent like Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm. Still, it looks like the Flames are starting to come around on offense and they’ll hope to continue that in Miami. As impressive as they’ve been, this Panthers team is looking pretty unstoppable right now, and I expect them to pull off a win in this one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-152)
Colorado Avalanche @ Chicago Blackhawks – 8.30PM ET
Two Central Division rivals hit the ice on Tuesday night when the Colorado Avalanche take on the Chicago Blackhawks. The Avalanche are currently 4th in the Central Division, and they have won six of their last seven games. The Blackhawks sit in seventh in the Central Division, and they are currently on a four game losing streak.
Denis Kirilov
The Colorado Avalanche take on one of the disappointments this season, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Avalanche are considered the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and that’s quite understandable. They have scored 119 goals in the span of just 28 games. They lead the NHL by a huge margin on average. The Avalanche is also coming into this game after defeating the Anaheim Ducks in their first game after Christmas. They made a full comeback from 0-2 to 4-2 for a period and a half. The team is still 7th in the current standings in the West, but this is mainly due to the number of games they have in hand. For instance, they have to play 7 more matches to be equal with the Golden Knights and the Ducks who are ahead of them.
The Chicago Blackhawks will most probably have an empty season. They are 14th with just 26 points from 32 games. However, the most concerning fact for them is their 4-game losing streak around Christmas. They haven’t shown any progress and this means with almost 100% certainty that they are already looking at the next campaign. However, their performance on home ice has been pretty good keeping in mind their overall activity. I think they might surprise some team here and there, but I don’t believe they can do it against the strong Avalanche. Therefore, I will suggest picking Colorado’s spread for yet another time this season.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (+102)
Tony Battalio
The Colorado Avalanche were the preseason favorites to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Finals. However it’s taken a couple of months and they are finally starting to play up to that level that we’re expected to before the season started. They are coming into this game with a record of 18-8-2 on the season. They have made their way up to fourth place in a very competitive Central Division that includes Minnesota and St. Louis as well. They have been victorious in seven of their last eight games on the season, even after losing several games due to Covid-19. They will be looking to pick another big win on the road in this one against Chicago.
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 3, 2022
The Chicago Blackhawks have had a roller coaster of a season thus far. They started out the year as one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League before climbing their way back to a respectable record, only to start to struggle again. They come into this game with a record of 11-17-4 on the season. Also they currently find themselves on a four game losing streak heading into this one, that they will be looking to break. However, as for the result of this game, I don’t see that happening, as I have the Colorado Avalanche picking up the win and further extending their great run of form lately.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-250)
Michael Lantz
Towards the beginning of December, it looked like the Chicago Blackhawks were turning a bit of a corner after a rough start. But, as the month continued they fell back into their losing ways. Now they’re in the midst of a four-game losing streak, which includes being outscored 2-11 in their last two games. Things won’t get easier for their defense on Tuesday as they go up against a Colorado Avalanche team that has plenty of offensive firepower.
Even with great players across the board, the Avalanche have had a hard time staying fully healthy, and sit in fourth place in the Central Division. Still, right before the league pause, the team had won five of six, and then they won 4-2 on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, in a game that could have major playoff implications. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, each tallied three points in that game, as the Avalanche have to be happy seeing their top stars step up in big games. They’ll hope to continue this against a Blackhawks team that continues to struggle, despite gaining defender Seth Jones and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury in the offseason. The Blackhawks have known to play spoilers at home, but I think the Avalanche keep their great play going.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-250)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Anaheim Ducks – 10.00PM ET
The Philadelphia Flyers wrap up their road trip on Tuesday night when they take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers have had a lot of close games recently, with four of their last five going to overtime or a shootout, and they have only won two of their previous five. The Ducks will be desperate to turn around their current four game losing streak, as they have losses to the Coyotes, Canucks, Golden Knights and Avalanche.
Denis Kirilov
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks are coming into this game after suffering a couple of losses recently. The Flyers got beaten by the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings after Christmas, while the Ducks are on a 4-game losing streak. The situation within Philly seems to be quite intense, but they still have a decent chance at making the Playoffs. They are 10th in the East with 32 points from 32 matches. The top 7 teams are slipping away from them and for now, they will need to battle with the Bruins for the last spot. However, the Playoffs are far away in the future, so let’s focus on the current circumstances. The Flyers have a couple of players who are injured including Derick Brassard and Sean Couturier.
The Anaheim Ducks will try to put an end to the negative run they are in with a win at home. They also have missing players like Adam Henrique and Trevor Zegras, but the rest of the starters are healthy. The Ducks are still up in the West in 4th place with 41 points from 35 games. However, they have around 4-5 more games played than the surrounding opponents and they will surely get dragged down soon. This would mean that they will get closer to 4th place in their Pacific Division which will be the last ticket for the Playoffs. It seems, however, that there are a lot of candidates, so the Ducks will need to get this win no matter what. I will trust them in putting an end to their losing streak and I will suggest you doing the same.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks (-137)
Tony Battalio
The Philadelphia Flyers will be ending a west coast road trip on Tuesday night in Anaheim. The Flyers have been a huge disappointment this season as they stumble into this game with a record of 13-13-6 through their first 32 games on the year. They currently find themselves on a two game losing streak after losses to the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. They will be looking to break that in this game. If they don’t find a rhythm soon they will find themselves out of the playoff conversion in early February in a crowded Eastern Conference. As Philadelphia currently finds themselves in fifth place of a very competitive Metropolitan Division.
The Anaheim Ducks have had an up and down season as well as a lengthy winning streak back in the month of November that has kept them in the playoff conversation up until this point. They are coming into this game with a record of 17-11-7 as they are a game under the .500 mark on the year. Even with a losing record the Ducks are still in second place of the Pacific Division at the moment. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up the victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks (-137)
Michael Lantz
Are the Anaheim Ducks for real? Just a couple weeks after they were surprisingly first in the Pacific Division, they’ve gone winless in their last four, including an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Coyotes and tough breaks against multiple division rivals. Luckily the other teams behind them in the standings have struggled as well, so they remain second in the division—for now. They have an opportunity to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
After a pretty abysmal November, the Philadelphia Flyers let go of head coach Alain Vigneault, and then started to look quite a bit better through December. But, since the league restarted after a brief COVID pause, the Flyers are back to their losing ways. They barely beat a bad Seattle Kraken team, and then followed that with losses to the Sharks and Kings. They’ll hope to nab another West Coast win against the struggling Anaheim Ducks. While the Flyers can be a bit unpredictable, I just don’t see the Ducks losing their fifth straight, especially at home. Give me the Ducks to cover in this one, and stay in a solid playoff position.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks -1.5 (+186)
Nashville Predators @ Vegas Golden Knights – 10.00PM ET
The Nashville Predators kick off a three game road trip on Tuesday night when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights. The Predators were clinical in their game last time out, beating the Blackhawks, 6-1, which takes their season record to 20-11-2. The Golden Knights have won seven of their last nine games, and this brings their record on the season to 22-12-1.
Denis Kirilov
The Nashville Predators have managed to escape going into a deep crisis after suffering two straight losses to the Capitals and the Blue Jackets in away games. They smashed the Chicago Blackhawks at home, 6-1, which helped them get back the lost confidence after this unconvincing restart of the season. The team has been a pleasant surprise so far as the Predators stand 3rd in the West with 42 points from 33 games. They have made the best out of the circumstances and they continue to have an empty injured list this campaign. The team will do its best to get as many points as possible before that changes, so we can expect yet another strong month from them.
The Golden Knights have proven many critics wrong with their performance in December. They have been schooling the whole NHL as only just a few teams have more goals on average this season. The team has scored 127 goals in 35 games and leads the West with 45 points from 35 matches. They came back strong after Christmas with two demanding wins over the Kings and the Ducks, but came up short in their last meeting in T-Mobile Arena against the Winnipeg Jets. The team is still without some of their top players including Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Nicolas Hague, and awaits the recovery of Jack Eichel. However, I think that the Golden Knights should be able to overcome the Predators who have been less convincing recently.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-118)
Tony Battalio
The Nashville Predators are coming into this game with a record of 20-11-2 through their first 33 games this season. Nashville has really picked it up as of late as they currently find themselves in second place of the Central Division behind the St. Louis Blues. In their last game they put a beat down on the Chicago Blackhawks as they went on to win the game by a score of 6-1. Now they will be looking to pick up a second straight victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on the road in this one.
💻 DeBoer: We want to establish a home ice presence that, for me so far, we haven’t done yet. pic.twitter.com/rsHbCLDbS2
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 3, 2022
The previously mentioned Vegas Golden Knights are coming into this game with a record of 22-12-1 through their first 35 games on the season. Vegas finds themselves in first place of the Pacific Division as the season is approaching the halfway mark. In their last game, the Golden Knights dropped an overtime game to the Winnipeg Jets so they will be looking for a bounce back victory in this one. As for the result of this game, I see that happening, as I have the Vegas Golden Knights picking up the victory at home in this one over Nashville.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-118)
Michael Lantz
In what’s arguably Tuesday’s marquee matchup, the Nashville Predators travel to “Sin City” to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Nashville had a successful December, winning six straight games at the beginning of the month, which propelled them to second in the Central Division. After a couple of rough losses at the end of the month, the Predators got back on track on New Year’s Day, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-1. Matt Duchene has been magnificent this year tallying 29 points in 29 games, which is helping this Predators team become a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. They’ll have to prove they can continue to hang with the best teams in the Western Conference, when they match up against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights had a tough 4-5 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, but before that they’d won seven of eight games. With their team back near full strength, it should be expected that Vegas continues their success of late until the end of the year. They’ll have a tough match up on Tuesday against the Nashville Predators, in a potential playoff matchup. I’ll take the Golden Knights to win this one: they beat Nashville 5-2 in Nashville in November. Even though that was before the Preds got hot, the Golden Knights were without a few key players, so I’ll expect them to win again.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (-118)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
