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!
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Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the best five games on today’s schedule.
New York Rangers @ Florida Panthers – 7.00PM ET
The New York Rangers kick off a two game road trip and on Wednesday night they take on the Florida Panthers. The Rangers have won just one of their last four games, with their only win coming against the Golden Knights, 3-2. The Panthers have lost three games in a row, which drops their season record to 18-7-4.
Denis Kirilov
The New York Rangers will have a tough encounter on the road as they will face the Florida Panthers after a break that lasted more than a week. Both teams are in the battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are 5th with 42 points, while the Panthers are surprisingly right behind them with 40 points. Florida was the best performing team in the earliest stage of the season. They went on to win their first 8 matches and were also the team that managed to put an end to the Hurricanes’ 9-game winning streak. Now, they are in a bit of a disarray as they lost their last three games in the NHL. The last two defeats were highly concerning since they were demolished by the Ottawa Senators, 2-8, and by the Los Angeles Kings, 1-4, both at home.
The Rangers have also been underperforming lately as they lost 4 out of their last 6 games in the League. Their inability to take advantage of the opposition’s mistakes was shown in these matches. Averaging just 2 goals in their last half a dozen games isn’t something their fans can be proud of. The team suffered losses to some of their direct rivals including the Colorado Avalanche, the Nashville Predators, and the Vegas Golden Knights. This game will definitely be a one to watch on Wednesday, but I think it’s hard to predict who will come out on top in the end. In my opinion, we can try our luck here and go for a draw in this matchup.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Tie (+330)
Tony Battalio
The New York Rangers are coming into this game with a record of 19-7-4 on the season. Coming back from the break they will be looking to continue to establish themselves as a contender in a crowded Eastern Conference. They are currently in third place of the Metropolitan Division, which in some people’s opinion is the most competitive division in the entire National Hockey League. However the New York Rangers have lost three of the last four games they have played so they will need to turn it around to keep themselves in contention. It will all start back up with this road game against a tough Florida Panthers team.
Vibes = immaculate. pic.twitter.com/YEEHLy6MV0
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 28, 2021
The previously mentioned Florida Panthers are also one of the top teams in a very crowded Eastern Conference. They come into this high profile match up with a nearly identical record as their opponents at 18-7-4 on the season. However they are coming in on a slump of their own as they have lost their last three games before the break. Florida comes into this game currently in 4th place in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning. Much like the Rangers they will need to string wins together to keep pace as well. As for the result of this game, I have the Florida Panthers picking up the victory at home in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-164)
Michael Lantz
The Florida Panthers come into the restart in a battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs atop the Atlantic Division. They currently sit at 40 points while the Lightning have 44 points and the Maple Leafs have 42. Florida is a high scoring squad; they have 104 goals this year, second in the Eastern Conference to the Washington Capitals’ 108. Although they hit a stall right before the league paused, losing 2-3 to the Colorado Avalanche and 1-4 to the Los Angeles Kings. A big part of this was due to star player Aleksander Barkov being sidelined due to injury. The team will likely have him back for this matchup against the New York Rangers as they look to grab a home win against a fierce Eastern Conference opponent.
The Rangers also find themselves in a battle atop their respected division, as they sit at 42 points, trailing the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes by one point for the division lead. The pause may benefit this Rangers team that was playing inconsistent hockey in December. They were losing to their playoff worthy opponents including the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, and just squeezed by inferior opponents including the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres. They’ll look to recompose themselves and overtake Washington and Carolina for the division lead. In this battle of two third-place teams that can taste the spots ahead of them, I’ll go with the home team in what should be a close one.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-164)
Nashville Predators @ Washington Capitals – 7.00PM ET
The Nashville Predators finally hit the ice in a competitive game, after four postponements in a row, and on Wednesday night they will take on the Washington Capitals. Despite the interruptions, the Predators are currently on a seven game winning streak, which boosts their season record to 19-10-1. The Capitals have had their last three games postponed, and last time out, they lost 2-3, to the Kings.
Denis Kirilov
The Nashville Predators and the Washington Capitals are two of the highest placed teams in their respective Conference. The Predators are surprisingly 4th in the West with 39 points out of 30 games. The team has been playing some good defence which was the core element for their success early in the season. They might be conservative in their attacks, but they actually do the bare minimum to win their matches. The Predators are on a 7-game streak, winning 5 of these games on the road. They defeated a great home team like the New York Rangers. However, they are highly affected by the current COVID-19 situation as they will miss a couple of their top players for this game including Mikael Granlund, Ryan Johansen, and Matt Duchene.
The Washington Capitals were also forced to sideline some of their players like Kuznetsov, Oshie, and Backstrom as they entered the health and safety protocols. Tom Wilson and Anthony Mantha are out with upper-body injuries. The team has been quite inconsistent recently, losing a couple of games that should have been won. Their last winning streak dates back to December 7th, when they consecutively overcame the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Anaheim Ducks. The Capitals enjoyed a good season so far as they were even on the top of the Eastern Conference standings at some point. I think that the difference between both teams goes in favour of the Capitals and they should come on top in the end.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
Tony Battalio
The Nashville Predators are coming into this contest with a record of 19-10-1 on the season. They are currently on a seven game winning streak that has been interrupted multiple times by postponements. However this game may be the toughest one of the entire streak as they will take on Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals on the road in the nation’s capital. This game against the Capitals will be the first game of a back to back for Nashville as they will finish out the calendar year against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday evening in Columbus.
The Washington Capitals come into this game with a record of 18-6-7 on the year. Their current total of 43 points is good enough for second place in the Metropolitan Division. They are dead even with the Carolina Hurricanes on points but due to tiebreakers they are behind them. With a victory in this game, they could find themselves alone in first place when the evening comes to a close. Led by Alexander Ovechkin and his 22 Goals they will likely find themselves in the playoffs by the time the season comes to an end, unless the wheels fall off. Along with the Capitals, Ovechkin himself is chasing history in the form of the goal scoring record. As for the result of this game, I have the Washington Capitals picking up the victory at home in this game.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
Michael Lantz
The Washington Capitals remain in a fierce battle atop the Metropolitan Division, as they’re tied in points with the Carolina Hurricanes at 43, while the New York Rangers are breathing down their neck at 42. Washington couldn’t get on a consistent win streak before the league pause, as they kept altering between wins and losses. They’ll look to get on a consistent streak, and Alexander Ovechkin will look to continue his journey up the all-time goals scored list.
The Capitals first opponent after this restart is the Nashville Predators. After a shaky start to the season, Nashville went on a massive surge right before the league paused. They won seven straight games and came within one point of the Minnesota Wild for the Central Division lead. A lot of this has to do with the Predators stifling defense, which has given up the second least goals in the Western Conference with 79. Now they face a Washington Capitals team with 108 goals scored—the most in the Eastern Conference. So, what happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object? We’ll find out on Wednesday night, but for my prediction, I’ll go with the Capitals to get back on track.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-160)
Edmonton Oilers @ St. Louis Blues – 8.30PM ET
The Edmonton Oilers are on the road for their Wednesday night game against the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers haven’t played in a while, after their last four games were postponed, and they are currently on a two game winning streak. The Blues also haven’t played in a while as they have had their last three games postponed, and last time out they lost to the Jets, 2-4.
Denis Kirilov
The Edmonton Oilers escaped the void with their last two victories in the NHL. Prior to that, they were on a 6-game losing streak that began in the early December days and went for more than two weeks. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid underperformed throughout this period and in my opinion, this was crucial for the overall performance of the Oilers. The team lost some vital matches against top-tier opponents like the Minnesota Wild, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Carolina Hurricanes. Right before the unexpected break due to COVID-19, the Oilers defeated the Seattle Kraken and the Columbus Blue Jackets. In November, they were in the top 3 of the West, fighting for the top spot, but eventually dropped to 8th place with 36 points from 29 matches.
The St. Louis Blues are slightly ahead of the Oilers as they are 5th in the Conference with 39 points. Statistically, they have both the better offence and the better defence, but I doubt the first statement. The Blues are surely a top team when it comes to their attacking abilities, but I don’t think many teams can match Draisaitl and McDavid. Their playing style is almost impeccable and highly effective. I believe they will continue making the difference for their team as they should be #1 priority for the opposition. The St. Louis Blues are slight favourites to win their first game after the break, but I think they will be surprised at home by the Oilers.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (+115)
Tony Battalio
Edmonton was finally pulling themselves out of a lengthy losing streak, before the season was postponed for a handful of days. They are coming into this game with a record of 18-11-0 on the season. Prior to the postponements they lost eight games in a row before winning their final two. Despite the recent slump they are still in a great position to put themselves back into contention as long as their best two players stay healthy. As long as that happens the Edmonton Oilers are a threat night in and night out.
Stop #1: STL. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/OAROknZh4g
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 29, 2021
The St. Louis Blues are coming into this game with a record of 17-9-5 on the season. They currently find themselves in third place of the Central Division as the season is set to resume for them on Wednesday night. They have managed to be one of the least affected teams due to Covid postponements as they only missed a total of three games. Prior to the three games that were postponed they had won five of their last seven games. However as for the result of this game, I have them losing to the Edmonton Oilers at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (+115)
Michael Lantz
Despite having arguably two of the league’s five best players (Leon Draisaitl and Conor McDavid), the Edmonton Oilers lack of depth and shaky defense has them sitting in fourth place. They went winless in six straight games, where even their two stars had a hard time getting anything going. Luckily just before the pause the Oilers were getting back on track after they captured consecutive wins against the Blue Jackets and Kraken. They’ll hope that momentum carries over as they face a St. Louis Blues team that’s tied in second in the Central Division.
The Blues have had their ups and downs this season, starting off the year hot before hitting a bit of a skid, but eventually gaining at least a point playing pretty consistent hockey. A big reason they’ve been able to stay atop the Central Division has been the play of Ivan Barbashev who has tallied seven points in his last five games. Unfortunately, Barbashev was added to the COVID protocol list on Sunday, so the Blues will be without their hottest player. I see that as being the difference maker in this one, even with the game being in St. Louis, I think Edmonton steals one on the road.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (+115)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Seattle Kraken – 10.00PM ET
The Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night. The Flyers have had their last two games postponed, but before that, they had won four of their last five, which brings their season record to 12-12-5. The Kraken have had their last five games postponed, and they are currently on a two game losing streak.
Denis Kirilov
The Philadelphia Flyers take on the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday in the NHL. Both teams have had some tough periods throughout the first part of the season. The Flyers are 11th in the East, while the rookies from Seattle occupy 15th place in the West. The Kraken found their way back to winning after defeating some of the top teams in the NHL just to lose 5 out of their last 6 games ahead of this match. The Flyers, on the other hand, were on a 10-game losing streak for three weeks between the end of November and the beginning of December. They managed to pick up their form and won 4 out of their last 5 matches. They might have defeated weak teams like the Ottawa Senators, Arizona Coyotes, and the New Jersey Devils, but this victory over the Golden Knights on the road shouldn’t be underestimated.
In my opinion, Philly should be able to make the Playoffs at the end of the season. They still have a decent chance at doing so as some of their projected direct opponents staying on the path of their mission might be the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kraken, on the other hand, will look to build up their team and to learn as much as possible throughout this campaign. They are not really interested in going deeper in the bracket, as it won’t surely be deep enough. Both teams have sidelined players due to COVID-19, but I think this will affect the team from Seattle more as they will miss Yanni Gourde and Jamie Oleksiak, while Philly will mostly feel the negative impact from the absence of Sean Couturier. Hence, I will go with choosing the surprise here and pick the Flyers to win it.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Philadelphia Flyers (+116)
Tony Battalio
The Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the most disappointing teams of the 2021-22 National Hockey League season thus far. They come into this game against the newest NHL team with a record of 12-12-5 as they are 5 games below the .500 mark on the year. Prior to the two games that were part of the postponements, Philadelphia had won four of its previous five games and were trending in the right direction. Now they will be looking to continue that momentum as we head into the new year. It starts with this game against the Seattle Kraken on the road.
The Seattle Kraken aren’t having the season that they may have expected too. As their first season in the NHL has been underwhelming to this point, they come into this game with a record of 10-17-3, a full ten games below the .500 mark. Prior to their last four games being postponed, they lost two games in a row so they will be looking to break that losing streak in this one. However as for the result of this game I don’t see that happening as I have the Philadelphia Flyers picking up the victory on the road in the Pacific Northwest.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Philadelphia Flyers (+116)
Michael Lantz
In a battle between two teams that sit near the bottom of their respective divisions, the Philadelphia Flyers travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Kraken. The Flyers have lost some players to COVID protocols including goalie Carter Hart, and veterans Derick Brassard and Scott Laughton. After having an awful month of November, the Flyers saw some signs of life before the pause in play. After firing coach Alain Vigneault, the team seemed to be showing new signs of life as they won four of their last five before the break. They’ll look to keep that going against a Kraken team that sits in last place in the Pacific Division.
The Kraken have been experiencing the trials and tribulations expansion teams often go through. They’ve gone on some ugly losing streaks, but have also shown up and won big games against the likes of the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and Edmonton Oilers. They’re a bit unpredictable, despite their unimpressive record, so a sixth place team like the Flyers shouldn’t be out of their wheelhouse. Unfortunately for Seattle, they’ve been hit hard by COVID and injuries, but luckily they’ll get a number of players back in the nick of time, including defensemen Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak. Unfortunately a big loss comes up front, as fan-favorite Brandon Tanev went down with a season-ending ACL injury. Tanev was improving greatly as a scorer this season, so his scoring and aggressive play will be a tough void to fill for the Kraken. Still, I like Seattle to take this one; even though the Flyers were looking better, they lost to a bad Canadiens team and barely beat a bad Senators team at home before the break. I’ll look for Seattle to win this one for Tanev.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Seattle Kraken (-140)
Vancouver Canucks @ Anaheim Ducks – 10.30PM ET
The final game on Wednesday night’s slate will see the Vancouver Canucks take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks are coming off five postponed games, meaning they haven’t played since mid-December, but they are currently on a six game winning streak. The Ducks have had four games postponed in a row, but they are currently sitting in first place in the Pacific Division.
Denis Kirilov
The Vancouver Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks will face each other in a tight contest on Wednesday night to wrap up the second day after the spontaneous Covid-19 break. The Ducks will have a perfect opportunity to snatch the top spot from the hands of the Minnesota Wild as three teams are tied with 40 points in the battle for 1st place in the West. The team from Anaheim proved to be a no joke as they have already defeated almost each single top-tier opponent. However, they are coming into this match after a 2-week break with their last game being a loss to the Arizona Coyotes after overtime.
The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the best performing teams ahead of Christmas, but just for a narrow 20-day period. With a fantastic 8-1 run, they managed to climb back up the leaderboard just a little. The Canucks are still 13th, finding themselves at the bottom of the table, but the last thing they did was to close the gap between them and the teams ahead. For instance, they are now 3 points away from 9th place, 6 points away from 6th place, and 10 points away from the top spot. However, I think that they won’t be able to continue their miraculous run as their 6-game winning streak should end soon. In my opinion, tomorrow is a good opportunity for this to happen, since the Canucks are dealing with numerous COVID-19 problems at the moment. Hence, I am taking the Ducks in this one.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Anaheim Ducks (-132)
Tony Battalio
The Vancouver Canucks are hanging right around the .500 mark so far this season as they come into this game with a record of 14-15-2 through their first 31 games. They are currently on a six game winning streak, which was interrupted by the constant postponements. They will look to keep the momentum they were building before the stoppage, and carry it into the new year. As a team that resides north of the border they have been heavily affected by the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. They have had five games postponed so far this season and could potentially see more postponed in the coming future. However for now they will keep looking to pick up victories and play their way into the playoff conversion.
Walked it off like a champ 😂 pic.twitter.com/EDOFSrr6rs
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 29, 2021
The Anaheim Ducks are coming off of the break with a record of 17-9-6 through their first 32 games of the season. This game against Vancouver will be the first game of the final two games this year for the Ducks as they will finish the year against the Vegas Golden Knights on New Years Eve on Friday evening. As for the result of this game, I have the Vancouver Canucks picking up right where they left off with a victory over the Ducks.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Vancouver Canucks (+110)
Michael Lantz
Before the break, the Vancouver Canucks were becoming one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They had won six straight, after they fired head coach Travis Green and GM Jim Benning and brought in veteran coach Bruce Boudreau. They’re looking to continue their surge and make their way up the Pacific Division. On Wednesday they’ll face a division rival that sits in front of them near the top, in the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks have been having a breakout season: after being one of the league’s worst teams the last couple of seasons, they’re currently in second-place in the Pacific Division by a hair, as the Vegas Knights have the same number of points (40) but have more wins (20 to Anaheim’s 17). The Ducks will hope to continue their surprise season against their division’’s hottest team. The Ducks aren’t too shabby themselves, as they’ve gone 6-1-3 in their last ten and have scored over 100 goals on the year while giving up under 90. Can Vancouver carry their momentum over from before the break and take out the Ducks at home? For the upset pick of the day, I’ll go with the Canucks.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Vancouver Canucks (+110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
