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 three games on today’s schedule.
Washington Capitals @ Chicago Blackhawks – 8.00PM ET
The Washington Capitals are in the middle of their three game road trip when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the first game on Wednesday night’s slate. The Capitals have played five games so far in December, and three of them have gone to a shootout, so they must be getting tired, and their season record currently sits at 17-5-6. The Blackhawks have been a tad inconsistent so far this month, but on the 2nd of December they did get the win against the Capitals, 4-3, in a shootout.
Denis Kirilov
The Washington Capitals will travel to Chicago in an attempt to get 1st place in the Eastern Conference. The team is tied in points with the Panthers and the Maple Leafs and are just 1 point ahead of Carolina and New York. The situation at the top of the East is pretty intense, meaning that each single game will have a huge impact on the standings. The Capitals have been trading wins and losses recently and most of their matches are going all the way down the wire. However, Ovechkin and Kuznetsov are still somehow finding the right way to get these important wins which is reflected in their position in the current rankings.
The Chicago Blackhawks are the essence of trading wins and losses. They haven’t managed to either win or lose more than a single game in a row for their last 12 matches. The Blackhawks might have suffered some unpleasant losses throughout the season, but they are 1-0 against their upcoming opponent. The game ended 4-3 after penalties in favor of Chicago as Patrick Kane scored the decisive penalty. Alex DeBrincat also pulled off a great performance, scoring in the opening period and giving an assist in the second one. I think, however, it’s time for Washington to get their revenge and that’s why I will go with them in game 2 between the Capitals and the Blackhawks for the 2021/22 NHL season.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
Tony Battalio
The Washington Capitals come into this game with a record of 17-5-6 on the year. They are 3-1-1 so far in the month of December. Alexander Ovechkin is playing like a potential Most Valuable Player award winner so far this season. At the same time he is also chasing history as with each game he inches closer to breaking the all time goal scoring record that he will likely capture towards the end of next season.
Windy City bound#ALLCAPS | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/W0lCWDPXCC
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 14, 2021
The Chicago Blackhawks got off to a horrible start this season but are slowly starting to turn things around as the season progresses. They come into this game with a record of 10-15-2. They have put together a decent December so far as they are 3-3-0 through six games this month. However as for the result of this one, I have the Washington Capitals picking up the victory in this game on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
Michael Lantz
The Washington Capitals remain in first place in a competitive Metropolitan Division after they sunk the Buffalo Sabres in a nail biting 3-2 shootout win. The Capitals are hanging on by a thread in first, as they hold 40 points but right behind them with 39 are the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers. They’ll try to extend that lead against a Chicago Blackhawks team that they struggled against on December 2nd, losing 3-4 in a shootout. They’ll look for some payback on the road on Wednesday night.
While still only 10-15-2, the Chicago Blackhawks have shown they can compete with the best when fully healthy as defender Seth Jones has played at all-star levels and forwards Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat have given the team much needed offense. Even with Blackhawks always ready to play spoiler, I’ll look for the Capitals to win on the road as they’ll want to avoid losing to the Blackhawks for the second time in two weeks.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
New York Rangers @ Arizona Coyotes – 9.00PM ET
The New York Rangers end their two game road trip in Arizona when they take on the Coyotes on Wednesday night. The Rangers are currently on a two game losing streak, after losing their game last night, 2-4, to the Avalanche. The Coyotes have lost all of their games in December so far, which drops their season record down even further, to 5-20-2.
Denis Kirilov
After two tough games against the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers will have a chance at getting back to winning against the worst performing team in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes. The Rangers are in the mix for 1st place in the Eastern Conference as they are just a couple of points away from the top spot. Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad have been playing on a very high level from the start of the season and they surely hope to keep that performance for the remaining months.
The Arizona Coyotes, on the other side, have once again lost 5 games in a row. They didn’t have much of a chance against some of the best teams in the NHL in their recent matches. The Coyotes find a huge difficulty in racking up goals this season as they have managed to score 4 or more goals on just 3 occasions from 27 matches. The team is dead last in the Western Conference with just 12 points and in comparison, the second-to-last, Seattle Kraken, is with 21 points. In my opinion the Coyotes will further struggle and will probably have one of the worst seasons in their NHL franchise. Hence, I will trust the Rangers to cover their spread in this easy at first sight upcoming fixture for them.
Denis’ NHL Pick: New York Rangers -1.5 (+128)
Tony Battalio
The New York Rangers will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one. After losing last night to the Colorado Avalanche they will be looking for a quick turn around in this one. They currently have a record of 18-7-3 as the year is starting to close out. The loss to Colorado has the Rangers on a two game losing streak, which they will be looking to break with this game against the league worst Arizona Coyotes.
The Arizona Coyotes are still the worst team in the National Hockey League, as they have been all season long. It doesn’t seem to be getting much better with every passing game as they are currently on a five game losing streak. Their overall record so far this season is 5-20-2 and it will likely continue to go up in the loss column more than the win column. As for the result of this game, I have the New York Rangers picking up the win on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-215)
Michael Lantz
After getting off to a brilliant start on the season, the New York Rangers have fallen on some tough times lately, as they’ve dropped three of their last four, including getting blanked twice by the Colorado Avalanche and losing a low-scoring affair to the Nashville Predators, 0-1. Still, they only remain one point behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. So, after falling to the Avalanche for the second time in a week last night, they’ll look to take some anger out on the Arizona Coyotes.
After a few games where there seemed to be a glimmer of hope—especially on defense—the Coyotes have fallen back to their old way of earlier in the year. They’ve dropped their last five and have been outscored 8-24 in those games. Now they face a Rangers team that’s hungry to get its offense going again. Whether they do or not, I ultimately expect them to win this game—no matter how much of a blowout or how gritty it gets; because with the Rangers lately, it’s been hard to tell.
Michael’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-215)
Seattle Kraken @ Anaheim Ducks – 10.00PM ET
Two Pacific Division rivals face off against each other in the last scheduled game on Wednesday night. The Seattle Kraken managed to get the win last night against the Sharks, 3-1, which brings their season record to 10-15-3. The Anaheim Ducks have won three of their last four games, and their season record currently stands at 16-9-5.
Denis Kirilov
The Seattle Kraken and the Anaheim Ducks will go head-to-head on Wednesday night in Honda Center. Both teams have won their last game in the NHL as the Kraken defeated the San Jose Sharks, while Anaheim outsmarted the St. Louis Blues. The rookies from Seattle are still struggling in the bottom of the table in the West, while Anaheim surprisingly lead their Pacific Division and are 3rd overall in their Conference. The Ducks have 14 points advantage over their upcoming opponents, but they have also played two games more than them.
The Seattle Kraken’s main issue comes from their defense as the team regularly concedes more than 4-5 goals in a single game. They have been performing really well since mid-November, having defeated teams like the Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, and most recently San Jose Sharks. Troy Terry continues making a huge statement with his game as he scored twice against the St. Louis Blues in Anaheim’s last match. The Ducks’ most recent matches were quite low-scoring as there have been a total of 11 goals in their last games (including two goals after regulation). I think that we will once again see less goals than expected, so I will choose the option for “under goals” in this meeting.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Under 6 (-120)
Tony Battalio
The Seattle Kraken will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one against the Ducks. On Tuesday evening they defeated the San Jose Sharks by a two goal margin. The win broke a three game losing streak that Seattle was on. Now they will go into the finale of this quick two game road trip with a record of 10-15-3 on the year. They will be looking to pick up a second straight win as they are coming up against an Anaheim Ducks team that has been struggling lately.
You already know what our @CoxComm Connection of the Week was. 😉 pic.twitter.com/2ltKnteeKZ
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 15, 2021
As for the previously mentioned Anaheim Ducks, they come into this game with a record of 16-9-5 on the year. They picked up a victory in their last game on Sunday in overtime over the St. Louis Blues. They have been having an average month of December as they have seemingly traded wins and losses off and on. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up their second straight win and getting started establishing some momentum for the rest of the calendar year.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks (-162)
Michael Lantz
The Seattle Kraken got a nice road win on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. Their 3-1 win broke a three-game losing streak, as they got an awesome performance from second string keeper Chris Dreidger. Seattle looks to get a sweep on their short, two-day road trip as they face the Anaheim Ducks in Southern California.
The Ducks have continued to impress all season long, as they now sit atop the Pacific Division. A lot of critics didn’t even have this team making the postseason, but they’ve come together on both sides of the puck to prove they’re a legitimate contender in the west, and are doing so ahead of schedule. They’ll face a Kraken team that seems to like going on little runs early in their franchise’s history. After a solid road win against the Sharks they’ll have some confidence coming into this one. But, the Ducks are well rested, and at home so I expect them to slow down a Kraken team that had to tough it out against the Sharks just last night.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks (-162)
If you’re looking for more NHL news, information and predictions, head over to our NHL hub page for all your ice hockey needs!
*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
