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 five games on today’s schedule.
Seattle Kraken @ New York Islanders – 7.00PM ET
Both these teams will be playing on back-to-back nights. The Seattle Kraken lost yesterday, 2-3, to the Bruins, and this takes their losing streak to two in a row. The New York Islanders won, 4-1, against the Senators last time out, and this takes their season record to 16-16-6.
Denis Kirilov
The Seattle Kraken suffered two straight defeats against the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins on the road. The rookies had a lot of troubles throughout the season so far as they are 15th in the East with 32 points from 45 matches. The team has been struggling to be consistent for a long period of time and this really took its toll on their overall performance. In my opinion, the players within the Kraken have a lot of potential, but they surely need a bit more time to get on with each other so that they can build some chemistry.
The New York Islanders, on the other hand, also didn’t play well this season, despite coming in 6th place in their Metropolitan Division. The team comes into this fixture after a dominant 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Their biggest issue is the fact that they cannot show their potential against the best teams in the NHL as most of their points came off matches against lower-tier opponents. Keeping in mind that the Kraken is such a team, I would say that the Islanders will come on top in this match.
Denis’ NHL Pick: New York Islanders (-215)
Tony Battalio
The Seattle Kraken will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one when they travel to Long Island to play the Islanders in their still brand new arena. Seattle’s first season in the National Hockey League is not going as planned for them as they come into this one well below the .500 mark. As the Kraken come into this game with a record of 14-26-4 through their first 44 games on the season. In their last game they lost to the New York Rangers by a score of 2-3. They will be looking to get back into the winners column in this one against the other New York team.
we heard there was bigger news in Boston today so you can ignore this graphic. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/dyxEmYiTXA
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) February 2, 2022
The previously mentioned New York Islanders are having a rough year as well. They are not playing well in their brand new arena either as they come into this game with a home record of 8-9-3 through 50% of their home games. They have an overall record on the year of 15-25-5 through their first 45 games on the year. They are currently on a two game losing streak they will be looking to break in this game. The Islanders are currently in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. As for the result of this game, I don’t see them winning this one either as I have the Seattle Kraken picking up the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Seattle Kraken (+176)
Jeffery Thomas
The Islanders are another team playing on the back to back on Wednesday, after dispatching of the Senators 4-1 at home on Tuesday. Goalie Ilya Sorokin led the way, stopping 26 of 27 shots in the game. That win snapped a two game slide, in what’s been a very rough season for New York. They are sitting with a record of 16-16-6 and in 6th place in the Metro. For the Kraken, they also played Tuesday but had a different result, losing 2-3 to the Bruins on the road. They exerted a lot of energy in a comeback effort, entering the 3rd period down 0-2, before tying it with 12:30 to go. With 9:11 left though, they gave up the game winner and the loss sent the expansion team to a record of 14-27-4.
Their measly 32 points have them at dead last in Pacific which is a whopping 14 points less than the next closest team. This was a game that was scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to the Winter Storm that came through New York. It’s a battle of two teams who aren’t good, but one team is just much worse and that’s the Kraken. They are a scrappy bunch but with the Islanders style of play, it’s hard to see them having much offensive success. I think their team total “under” is a good play if it comes in at 2.5 but my pick for this game will be the Islanders to win as they are just the better team and will have the home ice advantage.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: New York Islanders (-215)
Edmonton Oilers @ Washington Capitals – 7.00PM ET
The Edmonton Oilers wrap up their three game road trip in Washington when they go toe-to-toe with the Capitals. The Oilers had their four game winning streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Senators, 2-3, in overtime. The Capitals are one of the many teams playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they won in overtime, 4-3, against the Penguins.
Denis Kirilov
The Edmonton Oilers suffered a narrow loss in their last match against the Ottawa Senators that snapped their 4-game winning streak. They continue trailing back in 6th place in the Pacific Division, but after this performance, the team managed to cut the lead to reasonable points. Their best players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, slowly but surely find their rhythm which might play a huge role in forming the Playoffs. The Oilers are favourites to qualify for the bracket, but they will first have to deal with the likes of the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and the San Jose Sharks.
The Washington Capitals have been struggling a lot in January as they didn’t manage to get back-to-back wins throughout the whole month. However, with their victory over the Penguins, they managed to reach this achievement for the first time in 2022. Unfortunately, the Capitals have been having difficulties in Capital One Arena recently after losing to teams like the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights. In my opinion, their odd performances at home will continue, and I am willing to take the Edmonton Oilers in this match.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-126)
Tony Battalio
The Edmonton Oilers seem to have found their stride again as they come into this game on fire as of late. The Oilers come into this game with a record of 22-16-3 through their first 41 games on the season. Now with the signing of Evander Kane they are hoping they will get even better as the second half of the year progresses. However, they did suffer a loss to the Ottawa Senators in their last game that snapped a lengthy four game winning streak. Now they will be looking to get right back into the winners column in this one as they take on Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the nation’s capital.
The previously mentioned Washington Capitals will be playing the second game of a back to back in this one as they welcome in Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Washington picked up a big win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game in overtime on Tuesday evening. The victory over the Penguins improved their record on the season to 25-12-9 through their first 46 games on the year. As for the result of this game however, I don’t see the Capitals’ joy lasting that long as I have the Edmonton Oilers picking up the win in this one on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-216)
Jeffery Thomas
The Capitals will be on the back to back after a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over their rival Penguins on Tuesday. It was their 5th win in their past 9 and their second straight. It was a much needed win over a Pittsburgh team who was 5 points ahead of them coming into the game, and now they can gain another 2 points on their rivals who will be off on Wednesday. The Oilers have heated up a bit as of late themselves winning 4 of the last 5. This will be a confident and highly motivated bunch, because due to their recent surge they are only a point out of the second wild card spot coming into Tuesday night.
Their last game was a 2-3 loss to the Senators that snapped a 4 game winning streak. The Caps are starting to turn things around slightly after an up and down January but I’m not all the way there yet on trusting them. The Oilers have been playing great hockey in the last 5 games and will have the rest advantage so getting them on the spread seems like pretty good value to me.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers -1.5 (+194)
Los Angeles Kings @ Detroit Red Wings – 7.30PM ET
The Los Angeles Kings six game road trip finally draws to a close on Wednesday night when they take on the Detroit Red Wings. The Kings have gone 3-0-2 so far in this road trip, and will be looking for another win tonight. The Red Wings got the all important win last time out, 3-2 in overtime, against the Ducks.
Denis Kirilov
After a good start to the new year, the Los Angeles Kings managed to reach 7th place in the Western Conference. The team is looking in a good position, but they will need to keep up that pace in order to stay ahead of the two Canadian rivals – the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. The Kings have been relying on a more conservative playing style hoping they will come on top in games that go down the wire. They now have a chance to get their first back-to-back wins since January 16th. The Kings have beaten the Red Wings once this season, 4-0.
The Detroit Red Wings have been performing better than expected as they found a way to produce some upsets over the course of the season. They have found the right recipe against the Anaheim Ducks and the Pittsburgh Penguins throughout the last couple of days. However, it’s quite unlikely to see them in the Playoffs as they will need to level up their game so much that they will have to beat the Boston Bruins by at least 10 points in the remaining matches. I think their chances will go further down after the upcoming fixture against the Kings, expecting that the guests will get a fourth straight victory over the Red Wings.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Los Angeles Kings (-138)
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Kings come into this game with a record of 23-16-7 as they sit right at the .500 mark on the season. Despite their average record they are still occupying a playoff spot as they currently sit in third place of the Pacific Division. The Kings will be looking to pick up a big win and a much needed one in this game when they travel east to play the Detroit Red Wings. They are looking to build on their win last time out, after upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh.
The fact of the maatta is that Olli Maatta is playing in his 500th NHL game tomorrow. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/E926YCYT71
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 2, 2022
The Detroit Red Wings come into this game with a record of 20-20-6 as they are 6 games below the .500 mark at the moment. They are currently in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and they need to start racking up wins soon before they find themselves eliminated from the playoffs before the beginning of April. Detroit is currently on a one game winning streak after beating the Anaheim Ducks at home in their last game. As for the result of this game, I have them picking up the victory, as I look for the Red Wings to extend their winning streak to two games.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Detroit Red Wings (+116)
Jeffery Thomas
The Kings will be ending their road trip on Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. On the first 5 legs of the 6 game roadie, they have collected 8 of a possible 10 points, going 3-0-2. Their last game was a 4-3 win against the Penguins on Sunday. In that game, they had a 3-1 lead squandered before Trevor Moore netted the game winner with 6:39 remaining. So far all 5 games of this trip have been decided by 1 goal. Following this contest versus the Red Wings, they won’t have another game until February 15 against Edmonton. The Red Wings got a 2-1 overtime victory on Monday over the Anaheim Ducks in a game where goalie Alex Nedeljkovic only needed to make 14 saves. It was another home win for Detroit, who is much better on home ice than on the road with a 14-8-3 record.
When these two teams met on December 8 it was a 4-0 shutout win for the Kings with Cal Petersen making 21 saves and grabbing the victory in that one. However, with this one coming on home ice for the Wings, I can see them keeping this one close and taking advantage of a tired Kings team who will be playing their 6th game in 11 nights, all on the road. This has historically also been a rough trip for Los Angeles to make, having only won 8 of their past 35 visits to the Motor City, including dropping the last 3. I’m going to trust that trend to continue and will be taking the underdog in this one.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Detroit Red Wings (+116)
Calgary Flames @ Arizona Coyotes – 9.30PM ET
The Calgary Flames will wrap up their short two game road trip on Wednesday night with a trip to Arizona to take on the Coyotes. Both the Flames and the Coyotes are playing on back-to-back nights, and the Flames won their game last time out against the Stars 4-3, while the Coyotes played the Avalanche, and they also won, 3-2, in a shootout.
Denis Kirilov
The Calgary Flames have been in good form recently as they managed to pick up some really crucial victories on their way to making the Playoffs. The Canadian team was struggling around New Year’s Eve and this made them lose the grip on the good spots in the Western Conference. However, after a couple of vintage games, the Flames are once again back in 4th place in the Pacific Division. On top of that, they pulled off an incredible comeback against the Dallas Stars on the road in their last meeting, after scoring three goals in the last 6 minutes of the match.
The Arizona Coyotes are also coming off a comeback as they surprised the Colorado Avalanche with an equaliser in the dying moments in the game. Later on, they picked up the victory after scoring a deciding penalty, thus putting an end to their 5-game losing streak. The Coyotes, however, are a team that cannot really pull off plenty of surprises in the same week. They had to wait 32 games in order to get their first bigger-margin win for the season. Having said all this, I would trust the Flames to cover the spread against an exhausted and shorthanded Coyotes roster.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Calgary Flames -1.5 (-115)
Tony Battalio
The Calgary Flames come into this game with a record of 22-13-6 through their first 41 games on the season. The Flames have been up and down all season as they are only two games above the .500 mark on the season. They have won three of their last four games on the season, including a win in their last game. Now Calgary will be looking to pick up a second straight win against one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League, the Arizona Coyotes.
The Arizona Coyotes will be playing the second game of a back to back in this game. In the first game of their back to back they took the Colorado Avalanche down to the wire by tying the game late in the third period. The game would head into overtime and eventually a shootout where in the end, it was the Coyotes who scored the big upset win over the Colorado Avalanche. Now the Coyotes will look to add another win in this one against the Calgary Flames. The victory improved the Coyotes record to 11-29-4 through their first 44 games. However, as for the result I look for the Calgary Flames to win this one on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-310)
Jeffery Thomas
The Coyotes got one of the most shocking wins of the 2022 season on Tuesday night when they won the shootout and took down the Avalanche in Denver. The Avs had the 5th longest home winning streak in NHL history snapped. Goalie Scott Wedgewood earned 1st star of the game by stopping 38 shots in the victory. Now the question is, can the Yotes travel back home and claim another big upset on Wednesday? Their opponent in this one will be the Flames, who avoided falling victim to an upset themselves, downing the Stars 4-3 on the road.
They had to rally from down 1-3 to pull the victory out in regulation with a huge third period. It was an emotional win with the all star break looming, as the Flames and Stars came in deadlocked at 48 points and clinging to the 2nd wild card spot. It was a fun victory for the Coyotes on Tuesday but it’s hard seeing them pull off another in back to back days. The Flames are motivated and focused with every point mattering in their chase for a playoff spot and they will not let these 2 points get away from them against one of the worst teams in the league. Give me the Flames in regulation to take care of business and head into the all star break on a high.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – Calgary Flames (-185)
Minnesota Wild @ Chicago Blackhawks – 9.30PM ET
Two teams from the Central Division, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks will face off against each other on Wednesday night. The Wild are currently on a five game winning streak, and this streak includes two wins against the Blackhawks, which takes their season record to 27-10-3. The Blackhawks are currently on a two game losing streak, after losses to the Avalanche and Canucks.
Denis Kirilov
The Minnesota Wild will try to further build on their high-level performance recently after winning five straight matches in the last 10 days. They have demolished the Montreal Canadiens, 8-2, while at the same time, outplaying the tough New York Rangers on the road, 3-2. Their last loss came against the strongest team in the NHL on January 16th, when they were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche after penalties, 3-4. With these victories, the Minnesota Wild improved to 3rd place in the Western Conference, holding a 27-10-3 record.
The Chicago Blackhawks seem to have lost their confidence over the last couple of matches. After piling up four consecutive wins in mid-January, the team dropped 6 out of their next 7 games. Their chances of making the 2022 NHL Playoffs surely took a serious hit and I think they should really focus on the upcoming season. Their lack of consistency and the two straight losses against this opponent makes me choose the Minnesota Wild here as I will trust them to cover the spread for higher value.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild -1.5 (+146)
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Wild come into this game with a record of 27-10-3 as they are 14 games above the .500 mark through their first 40 games on the season. They have been playing at a high level for most of the season, however they only find themselves in the middle of the pack of the Central Division at the moment behind Nashville and Colorado. Minnesota is currently on a five game winning streak after picking up wins over both the New York Rangers and Islanders, Montreal, and Chicago twice. Now they will be looking to make it six straight with a third win over Chicago.
Gonna be a thrilling weekend! 🤩
More from #mnwild forward Kirill Kaprizov after practice today ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/CooRs6plrW
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 1, 2022
The previously mentioned Chicago Blackhawks had a rough start to the season. They have slowly gotten better as the year progressed but now they seem to be back to their losing ways. As they come into this game with a record of 16-22-7 through their first 45 games of the season. They will be looking to avoid losing to Minnesota for the third time in their last six games in this one. However as for the result of this game, I don’t see it happening as I have the Minnesota Wild picking up the victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Minnesota Wild (-166)
Jeffery Thomas
The Wild will put their 5 game winning streak to the test when they travel to Chicago for a battle with the Blackhawks. It has been 2 blowouts and 3 nail biters during the streak and they’ve actually claimed 8 of the last 9 going back further. They will come into this division battle pretty well rested, as they’ve been off since Sunday. In that game, it was a 4-3 victory on the road against the New York Islanders.
This recent surge has them now sitting at 3rd in the Central Division, only 3 points behind the 2nd place Predators entering Tuesday night. The Wild have been rolling and it’s due to tremendous play on both sides of the ice. They’ve been scoring in bunches, having netted at least 4 goals in 5 of the last 7 games and allowing 3 or less in 5 straight games. With Cam Talbot in net, who is 8-3-1 in his last 12 starts I will be taking the Wild to stay hot and get this win in regulation.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Moneyline (3-way) – Minnesota Wild (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
