We are loving the action throughout this impressive NHL season so far. As we move past the mid way point in the season, each division’s ladder has already become well formed. Despite this, 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.
Ottawa Senators @ Tampa Bay Lightning – 7.00PM ET
The Ottawa Senators kick off a tough five game road trip on Tuesday night, which includes games against the Lightning, Panthers, Golden Knights and Blues. The Senators have lost three of their last four games, and this takes their season record to 19-27-5. The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently on a four game winning streak, after wins over the Coyotes, Devils, Oilers and Predators.
Marko Nadin
The reigning champions Tampa Bay Lightning are having another solid season as they stand third in the Eastern Conference with a 34-11-6 record. The Lightning have won the last 4 games, most recently 3-2 against the Nashville Predators. Tampa Bay has won four of the last five games against the Senators. Eight of the last ten games between these two have gone over 5.5 goals. Tampa Bay has won 15 of the last 21 games following a win and 47 of the last 65 home games. The Lightning have won 6 of the last 7 Tuesday games.
The Ottawa Senators are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 19-27-5 record. They have lost 3 of the last 4 games, most recently 1-2 against the worst team in the conference, the Montreal Canadiens. Josh Norris, Nikita Zaitsev and Thomas Chabot will not play for the Senators against the Lightning. Ottawa has lost 5 of the last 7 games against teams with a winning record. In the last five games going in as underdogs, the Senators have played under 5.5 goals as well as the last 5 road games.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-420)
Tony Battalio
The Ottawa Senators have not been having the best season thus far. They come into this game with a record of 19-27-5 as they are 13 games below .500 through their first 51 games of the season. They are towards the bottom of the standings in the Atlantic Division and it will not get any easier for them as they have to take on the two time defending Stanley Cup champions in this game. Ottawa is currently on a one game losing streak after losing their last game to the Montreal Canadiens at home to end a four game home stand. It was their third loss in their last four games of the year.
“I’m feeling good. It was one of the worst 24 hours. But everything came back around and feels better this morning.”
Hear more from Thomas Chabot ⬇️ #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/4xCoxWIoO8
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 28, 2022
The previously mentioned Tampa Bay Lightning are coming into this game with a record of 34-11-6 through their first 51 games of the season. They started off the year slow but much like the last two years, they’ve gotten hot late which is the exact formula that led to them winning the last two Stanley Cup trophies. As they prepare for the stretch run towards a three-peat, it is clear that they have more competition this season than they have had in years past. Especially in what has been a deep and loaded Eastern Conference. As for the result of this however, I have Tampa Bay getting the easy win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning (-420)
Jeffery Thomas
The Ottawa Senators have had a down season and have nothing to play for at this point but surprisingly they have had a bit of success against the Florida teams this year. They own a 1-2-0 record against the Lightning and a 1-0-0 one against the Panthers who they will play on Thursday this week. That 4-0 shutout victory over the Lightning on December 11 may very well be the highlight of their season, with their captain Brady Tkachuk getting his first career hat-trick and goalie Anton Forsberg earning his first career shutout. The Lightning will hope to not have any of that happen again in this matchup, and with their current form – it’s not looking likely. The defending champs only lost one game in February and that was a 2-3 game against the Avalanche, who have the most points in the NHL.
This is the first game of a 3 game home-stand for them after dispatching of the Nashville Predators by the score of 3-2 on Saturday. Going into Monday’s action, Tampa Bay is one point back of their in-state rival Florida Panthers for 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Matt Murray for the Sens and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning are two of the league’s best goalies and this will be a treat on Tuesday for fans. I like the under because of the goaltending and also due to what I believe will be Ottawa’s inability to break this Tampa defense and generate much offense. That’s why my pick for this game will be Tampa Bay in regulation because they will dictate the pace and be able to get enough of an advantage that they won’t need overtime to get the victory.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – Tampa Bay Lightning (-250)
Edmonton Oilers @ Philadelphia Flyers – 7.00PM ET
The road trip continues on for the Edmonton Oilers who will take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Oilers will be looking to get back on track after dropping three of their last four games. The Flyers are also a team that is struggling at the moment, but they did manage to snap their six game losing streak last time out, with a win over the Capitals, 2-1.
Marko Nadin
The Philadelphia Flyers are having one of the worst seasons in recent years as they are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 16-26-10 record. The Flyers are coming off a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals after losing the previous six games. The Flyers have won 3 of the last 5 games against Edmonton, most recently 5-3, in October last year. Four of those five have finished over 5.5 goals. The Flyers have lost 23 of the last 31 home games as underdogs. They have lost six of the last eight games against Western Conference opponents.
The Edmonton Oilers are ninth in the Western Conference with a 29-21-3 record. The Oilers have lost 3 of the last 4 games, most recently 1-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Edmonton has won the last four games as favorites and the last four games after one day rest. They have also won 5 of the last 6 games as road favorites. Edmonton is tied for the last spot that leads into the playoffs and will not miss the opportunity to improve their record and the chance to advance to the postseason against a team that has won only 4 games this year.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-164)
Tony Battalio
The Edmonton Oilers may very well have the most stacked roster in the entire National Hockey League. However, up until a few weeks ago they were not playing up to their potential. Over the last few weeks their level of play has certainly stepped up. As they have made their way up the ladder in the Pacific Division and Western Conference standings. The Oilers come into this game with a record of 29-21-3 through their first 53 games of the season. Edmonton is currently in fourth place in the Pacific Division as they trail the Golden Knights by a single point for first.
Watch live as Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov meets with the media from the @FlyersTCenter. https://t.co/rN3BQTI8eQ
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 28, 2022
The Philadelphia Flyers are having a rough season thus far. Through their first 52 games of the season they are far below the .500 mark with a record of 16-26-10 on the season. They are currently in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, nearly 30 points out of third place and a Stanley Cup playoff spot. Philadelphia is currently on a one game winning streak after picking up a win in their previous game. However, their winning streak isn’t going to last long in my opinion, as I have the Edmonton Oilers picking up the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-164)
Jeffery Thomas
The streaky Oilers are on the bad end of things recently, losing three of their last four games. However, if you look deeper into it, the opponents they are dropping those games to are no slouches. They lost to the Minnesota Wild (3rd in the Central), Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd in the Atlantic), and Carolina Hurricanes (1st in the Metropolitan) during this stretch. Sandwiched in there was a win against the 1st place Florida Panthers, so they have just ran into a buzzsaw in their schedule. They will be relieved to see these Flyers up next, who are having a rough season at 7th in the Metro with a record of 16-26-10.
The Flyers can be dangerous at times though, and put up a solid performance, as they showed in their last game, a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals. That win snapped a six-game losing streak for Philadelphia, and may just be the confidence boost they needed to go and get an upset victory in this matchup on Tuesday. The Oilers have really turned things around under their new head coach, and they don’t let games like this get away from them anymore. Side by side they are the much better team and the Flyers will have no answer for Connor McDavid and company. I love this spot for Edmonton even with them being on the road.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-164)
Carolina Hurricanes @ Detroit Red Wings – 7.30PM ET
The Carolina Hurricanes kick off a two game road trip on Tuesday night, and their first stop is Detroit to take on the Red Wings. The Hurricanes will be looking to build on their current five game winning streak, and this takes their season record to 37-11-4. The Red Wings have been a little inconsistent as of late, and they have dropped their last two games to the Avalanche and Maple Leafs.
Marko Nadin
The Detroit Red Wings are 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-24-6 record. The position on the table sounds promising but the Red Wings are 13 points behind the Washington Capitals who are at the last spot that leads in the playoff. Detroit is coming off back-to-back losses against some of the best teams in the league, Toronto and Colorado, allowing 15 goals in these two games. Detroit has won 3 of the last 5 games against Carolina but is a major underdog in this one. Detroit has won only one of the last 10 games as a home underdog.
The Carolina Hurricanes are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 37-11-4 record with the Colorado Avalanche being the only team with more wins this season. The Hurricanes are the best defensive team in the league this year, allowing only 2.3 goals per game on 28.8 shots on goal with 90.2 PP%. The Hurricanes have won 13 of the last 17 games as road favorites, 4 of the last five against conference rivals and 7 of the last 9 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-205)
Tony Battalio
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League so far this season. They are one of the clear favorites to win the Eastern Conference and potentially the Stanley Cup Finals. Carolina comes into this game with a record of 37-11-4 through their first 52 games of the season. Carolina is currently in first place in the Metropolitan Division. They are currently on a five game winning streak as well. They will look to make it six in a row over an average Detroit Red Wings team.
90. 53. 23.@xfinity Player(s) of the Week! pic.twitter.com/us73dldpWd
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 28, 2022
The previously mentioned Detroit Red Wings come into this game with a record of 23-24-6 as they are only seven games below .500 through their first 53 games of the season. Detroit is currently sitting in the bottom half of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings as they are fifth in the Atlantic. It is fair to say they are in the middle of a rebuild for at least the next couple of years and won’t be making the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. As for the result of this game, I have the Carolina Hurricanes getting the win on the road over Detroit.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-205)
Jeffery Thomas
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the NHL all season, but it wasn’t a great start to the month of February as they lost four of the first five games. That had some people questioning whether or not they were real contenders, or was it just a rough patch in the season. Well, after that overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on February 16, they’ve rattled off five straight wins, including their 2-1 win over the dangerous Edmonton Oilers on Sunday afternoon. The Canes only trail the Colorado Avalanche in terms of points on the season, and will look to keep the winning streak alive when they travel to Detroit on Tuesday. The Red Wings will need a win in this game to avoid losing each of their three game homestand.
The last game they played was a crazy 7-10 game against the Maple Leafs where they tried to rally back from a 1-7 deficit and even cut it down to 6-7 in the third period. That type of offensive output was obviously an outlier, but they actually have been producing a good amount of offense, as in the month of February (7 games), they only scored under 3 goals once. Let’s just really look at these two teams and how they’re entering this game. The Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the league and the Red Wings just gave up 10 goals in their last game. That should let you know everything you know about how this should go. The Canes have been one of the most balanced teams, solid in every aspect and this should be pure domination. Give me Carolina big.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (+126)
Calgary Flames @ Minnesota Wild – 8.00PM ET
This game between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild will be the second of their back-to-back, but this time the Wild get the home ice advantage. In the first game, it was the Flames that were dominant, winning 7-3. Can the Wild get revenge, or will the Flames prove too good yet again?
Marko Nadin
Both Minnesota and Calgary have 31 wins so far in the season and are among the top 4 teams in the Western Conference. The Wild are 31-16-3 and have lost the last three games to Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary. Still, they are an excellent home team winning 16 of 21 home games this season. Minnesota have won 7 of the last 8 games after their opponent has scored at least five goals in the previous game and have won 8 of the last 10 games coming in after 2 days rest. Minnesota has played over the total goals margin in 6 of the last 7 games.
The Calgary Flames are third in the Western Conference with a 31-14-6 record. They have won 11 of the last 12 games, losing only to the Vancouver Canucks in that span. They are visiting Minnesota after they defeated them 7-3 in their last game on Sunday. That was the Flames third straight win over the Wild. Calgary has won 5 of the last 7 games against teams with a winning record, losing the other two in overtime. They have won 8 of the last 11 games following a game in which they scored at least 5 goals.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-130)
Tony Battalio
The Calgary Flames have been the hottest team in the National Hockey League as of late. The Flames climbed all the way up to first place in the Pacific Division off the back of a double digit win streak. Now they come into this game with a record of 31-14-6 through their first 51 games of the season. Calgary is currently on a one game winning streak as they get ready for their second straight game against the Minnesota Wild. Last time out they took down the Wild by a score of 7-3 at home. In this one they will hit the road to Minnesota.
A beauty of a goal set up by a beauty of a pass from Johnny. Standard.#Flames | @BudweiserCanada pic.twitter.com/RhsxIU9QJZ pic.twitter.com/rBK4BEeuV4
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) February 28, 2022
The Minnesota Wild will be looking to get revenge for their loss in their last game against the Calgary Flames. At one point in the season, Minnesota had the best record in the National Hockey League. Now they come into this game with a record of 31-16-3 through their first 50 games of the season. They currently sit in third place in the Central Division behind the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. As for the result of this game, I have the Calgary Flames getting the victory over the Minnesota Wild on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-130)
Jeffery Thomas
This will be the second leg of a home and home series between two very formidable teams in the Flames and Wild. The Flames dominated the first game on Saturday, winning it 7-3 on their home ice. Matthew Tkachuk and Tyler Toffoli were both able to get two goals and an assist as the offense was clicking on all cylinders. They’ll hope to replicate that same result on Tuesday but it will definitely be a stiffer test, as they’ll now be in Minnesota. The Wild had their losing streak stretched out to three games with that loss on Saturday, and actually are losers of five of their last six.
With a record of 31-16-3, they are still clinging on to the 3rd spot in the Central Division, but now only lead the 4th place Nashville Predators by 1 point going into Monday’s games. Minnesota has been sliding lately but will be happy to be back on home ice, where they are 16-4-1 on the year. Revenge will also be on their mind after losing 3-7 to Calgary on Saturday. The Flames have been winning at an alarming rate lately (11 of 12), but only two of those wins have come on the road. Backing Minnesota to win on home ice has treated us great all year and that trend will continue on Tuesday.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (+108)
New York Islanders @ Colorado Avalanche – 9.00PM ET
The New York Islanders will wrap up their five game road trip tonight when they take on the Colorado Avalanche, who themselves have one game at home before hitting the road again. The Islanders have gone 2-1-1 so far this road trip, and this takes their overall season record to 20-21-8. The Avalanche have won five of their last six games, including their last three in a row against the Red Wings, Jets and Golden Knights.
Marko Nadin
The Colorado Avalanche have the best record in the league with 39-10-4. They are 12 points ahead of the second team in the West, the St. Louis Blues, but that doesn’t mean they will slow down. The Avalanche have won the last three and 5 of the last 6 games. They are the second-best team in the league scoring 4 goals per game. The Avalanche have won 43 of the last 51 games against teams with a losing record. They have won the last 4 games playing after a two days rest.
The New York Islanders are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 20-218 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 4-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks. That was their fourth shoutout of the season. The Islanders have lost 5 of the last 7 road games and 13 of the last 18 games against Western Conference opponents. They have lost 10 of the last 12 games as a road underdog and the last 6 games coming after a win. The Islanders have won 3 of the last 4 games against Colorado but stand no chance in this one.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-300)
Tony Battalio
It’s been a rough year for the New York Islanders. They started out the year on a very long road trip while their new arena was being built, and they haven’t played the best in that very same brand new arena. Barely halfway through the season it is fair to say that the New York Islanders are already looking towards the draft and they are virtually eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs at this point. They come into this game with a record of 20-21-8 as they are nine games below .500 and play in one of the most competitive divisions in the league.
He’s Truly amazing!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/l77g6KGVAR
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 1, 2022
The Colorado Avalanche have been the best team in the National Hockey League this season. They were the preseason favorites for the Stanley Cup trophy and they are still the favorites. They come into this game with a record of 39-10-4 through their first 53 games of the season, as they hold a double digit lead in the Central Division. As for the result of this game, I have the Colorado Avalanche getting the win over the New York Islanders at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-300)
Jeffery Thomas
The Avalanche are the best team in the NHL points-wise and have to be feeling good about their recent performance. They are returning to the Ball Center after one game away to play in Vegas, where they took down the Golden Knights 3-2. Winners of seven of their last nine now, they will hope to keep their good run of hockey going against the Islanders as we are about to hit the stretch run of the season. For the New York Islanders, it hasn’t been nearly as good of a season for them, as they sit at 6th place in the Metro with a record of 20-21-8. This is the last game of a five game road-trip for the Isles and they are a modest 2-2 in the first four games.
It was a 4-0 shutout win over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday in their last outing though, so now with a little bit of confidence and momentum they’ll look to take down the mighty Avalanche. The Islanders would need all hands on deck to pull off this upset, and with star forward Mathew Barzal likely to miss this game, it’s going to be a long night for them, as practically their entire offense runs through him. The Avs at home is just too tough to beat and this Islanders team definitely won’t even come close to pulling it off. My official pick is the spread line but I honestly like the Avs -2.5 if you can get it, team total over, moneyline 3-way – all of it! The Avalanche will roll.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
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