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 three games on today’s schedule.
Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins – 7.00PM ET
The NHL kicks off on Wednesday night with a game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens are currently on a three game losing streak, and they have an abysmal season record of 7-23-4. The Bruins have won five of their last six games, which includes wins over the Sabres, Red Wings, Devils, Lightning and Capitals.
Denis Kirilov
The short-handed Montreal Canadiens will face off against the Boston Bruins in one of the most interesting matchups in the Eastern Conference throughout the last couple of years. However, the situation at the moment doesn’t make this game that much exciting. The team from Canada struggles in the last place with just 18 points out of 34 games. They have shown a lot of concerning signs from the very beginning of the season as they will most certainly miss out on the Playoffs. The runners-up from last year will try to get as much as possible from this season and return stronger than ever in 2022/23. The Canadiens’ issues come both from their offense and defense and with the current COVID-19 situation, I don’t really see a way out for them.
The Boston Bruins are confidently sitting in 4th place in the Atlantic Division. They are 4 points away from the Detroit Red Wings who are right behind them. On top of that, the Bruins will still need to play 4 more games compared to their rival for the Playoffs spot. This surely takes a lot of pressure away from Boston’s management as they really play more relaxed and focused in the last couple of matches. The team has one of the best defensive lines in the NHL as they have only conceded 84 goals for 32 games. Moreover, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron are available for Bruce Cassidy who will surely try to make the best out of the current circumstances in the NHL. I would recommend picking the Bruins’ spread for this game.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Boston Bruins -1.5 (-132)
Tony Battalio
The Montreal Canadiens come into this game as one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League so far this season. Through their first 34 games they have only managed to piece together seven victories as they are 27 games below the .500 mark. They are in last place all alone in the Atlantic Division and it is likely to stay that way for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. They are currently on a three game losing streak after failing to get the job done against Florida, Carolina, and Tampa Bay on the road in their last three games.
More praise for Jake Allen.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/w8TxqCvrt5
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 11, 2022
Luckily for the Boston Bruins, they are coming up against a cupcake of a team that should be easy to beat at home. The Bruins have played great as of late as they come into the game having won five of their six games this month, all but one of them by 2 or more goals. They are coming into this game with a record of 19-11-2 on the season. They are currently in fourth place of a very competitive Atlantic Division even with all the recent success. As for the result of this game, I have the Boston Bruins picking up the win and covering the spread over the Montreal Canadiens at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Boston Bruins -1.5 (-132)
Michael Lantz
Unfortunately TNT’s two games on Wednesday night feature two of the NHL’s worst teams, the first being the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal has seemed a bit hungover from last season’s Stanley Cup appearance. Sure, they started off the season with a plethora of injuries, but they just haven’t been able to adjust as the season has continued. With a loaded draft class coming in this offseason, the Canadiens are likely looking ahead to their future rather than another Cup run.
On Wednesday, Montreal will play a team that’s looking to make one more Stanley Cup run before their stars grow too old. Boston continues to compete thanks to the likes of veterans Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. This team is coming off massive wins against Eastern Conference opponents as they beat the Tampa Bay lightning 5-2 on Saturday and followed that up with a 7-3 victory against the Washington Capitals on Monday night. Marchand has been a big part of this scoring surge, but the team also has to be thrilled that 25-year-old David Pastrnak has been just as lethal, scoring five goals in the last four games. They’ll look to continue their strong play on both sides of the puck against a bad Montreal team. With the way Boston has been playing and the home ice advantage being in their favor, they should be able to cover.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Bruins Bruins -1.5 (-132)
Seattle Kraken @ Dallas Stars – 8.30PM ET
The middle game on Wednesday night’s slate will see the Seattle Kraken take on the Dallas Stars. The Kraken are currently on a six game losing streak that dates back to mid-December, and this drops their season record down to 10-20-4. The Stars had their four game winning streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Blues, 1-2.
Denis Kirilov
The Seattle Kraken and the Dallas Stars will go head-to-head on Wednesday night in the NHL. The Stars have been a one-sided team this season depending on where they play. Although being in the middle of the table, the team is performing on two opposite poles in its home and away games. When it comes to matches played in American Airlines Center, the Stars have been one of the top teams in the NHL as they are just a couple of points shy of 1st place occupied by the St. Louis Blues. However, they are the worst team on the road with just 9 points and a negative 31-52 goals difference.
The Seattle Kraken are surely one of the most intriguing teams this season. The rookies managed to surprise a lot of top contenders in November, but most of these matches were at home. They have only beaten the Florida Panthers on the road, 4-1, as the rest of their wins away from home came against low-tier opponents. The Kraken, however, have been hit by the recent COVID-19 outbreak and this resulted in 6 straight losses. Their position in the overall standings suggest that they will miss the Playoffs, while Dallas still have a decent chance at going past the Group Stage. Hence, I think that the Stars will be motivated enough to prolong their winning streak at home to 5 games.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-220)
Tony Battalio
The National Hockey League’s newest team is not having the debut they would’ve hoped for as Seattle has been merely a punching bag for the leagues already established and legendary franchises. The Kraken come into this game with a record of 10-20-4 through their first 34 games on the season. The Kraken are currently in last place of the Pacific Division and come into this win having lost their last six games that has stretched throughout several pockets of postponed games. They have lost a grand total of ten out of their last eleven games as well dating back to early December. Things do not look to be getting any better anytime soon either as they get set to play the Dallas Stars in this one.
The previously mentioned Dallas Stars come into this game with a record of 17-13-2 on the year as they are just floating on the positive side of the .500 line. They are coming into this game sitting in sixth place in one of the most competitive divisions in the entire league, the Central Division. They have picked up victories in four of their last five games, as they dropped their last one to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 1-2 on Sunday. As for the result of this one however, they will quickly get back into the winners column in my opinion. I have the Dallas Stars picking up the win at home over the Seattle Kraken.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-220)
Michael Lantz
The Seattle Kraken haven’t won a game since December 14th, when they beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1. They’ve had some close calls lately, but ultimately look like they’re already looking ahead to the future, instead of emulating the success of the previous expansion team the Vegas Golden Knights. Still after a 3-4 loss to the NHL’s best offensive team the Colorado Avalanche, the Kraken might have a bit of confidence going into Dallas to face an inconsistent Stars team.
The Dallas Stars won seven games in a row at the end of November and into early December. They followed that up with five straight losses, and then went on another winning streak of four, before falling to the St. Louis Blues 1-2 on Sunday. They’ll prefer to not go on another losing skid against one of the league’s worst teams in the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. The Stars will likely focus on the power play to get this victory as they rank in the top ten in power play percentage and goals. The Kraken on the other hand, have a pretty poor power play performance and their ability to kill is equally unimpressive. Additionally, the Stars have been at their best at home this season, as they’ve posted a 13-3-1 record at the American Airlines Arena this season. I’ll look for them to continue this home dominance.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-220)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Arizona Coyotes – 10.00PM ET
The final game of the night will see the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice and take on the Arizona Coyotes. The Maples Leafs are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they won 4-3, in a shootout against the Golden Knights. The Coyotes have won just one of their last four games, and they have one of the worst records in the league, currently sitting at 7-23-3.
Denis Kirilov
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have at first sight an easy opponent on Wednesday night. They travel to Phoenix to face off the worst team in the West, the Arizona Coyotes. The hosts have been simply terrible this season, getting just 17 points from 33 matches. They have struggled to get their first victory by more than a single goal as this moment came on January 6th after a 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The team has been performing really badly both in offense and in defense as they have scored the least goals and they have conceded the most goals throughout the campaign in the West so far.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been nothing short of amazing in December as they managed to transfer this performance into the new calendar year. However, the Canadian team lost one of their last meetings in the NHL to the Colorado Avalanche after overtime which took some of their momentum. Toronto’s offense has performed on a very high level throughout the first part of the season and they will look to keep up the same pace until the first summer days. The Maple Leafs are still chasing the top spot in the Eastern Conference, sitting in 5th place with 49 points from 34 games. I reckon that they will easily come on top on Wednesday as I really don’t see how an injured Arizona Coyotes roster will be able to withstand their attacking force. I will take their spread for this meeting.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (-118)
Tony Battalio
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing the second game of a back-to-back in this one. In their game last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, they played a tough hard fought contest that went down to the wire. In the end it was the Maple Leafs who prevailed which left Toronto coming into this game with a record of 23-8-3 through their first 34 games on the season. Now in the second game of this back-to-back they will get much easier competition as they face one of the National Hockey League’s worst teams, the Arizona Coyotes. The Maple Leafs will need to pick up every point they can if they want to keep pace with the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.
Final. pic.twitter.com/FwxvoetnBG
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 9, 2022
The previously mentioned Arizona Coyotes are by far the worst team in the NHL this season, or are least the worst American team depending on who you ask. Arizona comes into this game in dead last in the Central Division and that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. Arizona is currently possessing a record of 7-23-3 through their first 33 games of the year. As for the result of this game, I don’t see their luck changing in this one either as I have the Toronto Maple Leafs picking up the victory in this one against the Arizona Coyotes on the road.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-335)
Michael Lantz
The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a great win on Tuesday night as they defeated Pacific Division leader the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout in Sin City. On Wednesday night the Leafs will have a bit of an easier opponent as they face the NHL’s worst team, the Arizona Coyotes. As bad as the Coyotes have been, they’ve shown some signs of life lately, winning two of their last five, but more importantly having some big scoring performances along the way.
They’ve gotten great production from Lawson Crouse who has scored six points in the last four games and are looking to continue a strong offensive production in coming games. Unfortunately, that might be tough against the Maple Leafs—Toronto is one of the best defensive teams and their goalie Jack Campbell (if he starts, he might rest this one) is one of the league’s top goalies. Even with the Maple Leafs playing an aggressive game the night before, they should have no problem putting the Coyotes away.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (-118)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
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