Free NHL Picks Today for Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

Our free NHL picks are out for Wednesday, October 11th 2023! Make sure you check our NHL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NHL picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was a rough season last year for the Montréal Canadiens, and they will be looking to get this brand new season off to a solid start with a win on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs here on Wednesday night. One of their final two preseason games was a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, which could give them a little bit of momentum coming into this game, but as we all know the preseason and the regular season are two very different things. Last season they finished as one of the worst teams in the entire National Hockey League, as they ended the year in last place of their division with a record of 31-45-6. So there is certainly plenty of work to be done for Montreal to become a competitive hockey team once again. 

It was a successful season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, they crashed out of the playoffs a little earlier than they would’ve liked. Superstar Auston Matthews was once again, the driving force behind the solid play of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he will be looking to replicate that performance this upcoming season, and get this season off on the right foot with a quality performance in this game against the Montréal Canadiens at home. Toronto is a team that is certainly built to win a Stanley Cup of all the pieces fall in place for them and they are the most likely of all the Canadian teams outside of Edmonton that could end the curse of the Stanley Cup for the Canadian teams in the National Hockey League. I expect them to get this season off to a great start with a quality victory over Montreal here on Wednesday night at home.

Ottawa Senators @ Carolina Hurricanes – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Ottawa Senators have a lot of work to do if they want to be a competitive team this season, and it starts with going on the road to one of the hardest places to play in the league and grabbing a season opening victory here on Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Although they managed to finish with a winning record and regulation, some rough overtime losses lead them to finishing the season slightly under the .500 mark, and that is something they will be looking to improve upon here in this 2023-24 campaign. They only met up with the Carolina Hurricanes three times last season and it resulted in one victory, one loss and then another loss in overtime. Which only goes to show that they need to improve upon their performance at the end of games.

The Carolina Hurricanes put together a successful season last year, but much like several other teams, they fell out of the playoffs a lot earlier than they would’ve expected. They will be looking to make their way back to the postseason this year and put up a better fight as they look to win a Stanley Cup at the end of the season. They were able to pick up 52 victories last year, which put them in first place of the Metropolitan division at the end of the regular season, and had them positioned as the second best team in the Eastern Conference as well. I look for them to pick up where they left off in terms of their regular season dominance and pick up a victory over Ottawa here on Wednesday night at home.

Winnipeg Jets @ Calgary Flames – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Winnipeg Jets had a somewhat successful season last year and they will be looking to be a lot better this season but they do have a lot of things that they need to clean up if they want to be a more competitive team throughout the regular season. It starts with finding a way to grab a victory on the road against the Calgary Flames here on opening night as they look to get this season off to a solid start with a victory in game number one. Winnipeg finished last season above .500 with a record of 46-33-3 and just barely got into the playoffs. Then they ran into the Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, and they were eliminated in the first round after losing in five games. They will be hoping they can improve upon their performance this season.

The Calgary Flames will be looking to be more competitive in what feels like a very loaded Pacific division that includes teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Edmonton Oilers. Two years ago they had a very successful season and looked like one of the top teams in the league but last season they regressed in a big way, and missed out on the postseason. It will be looking to avoid another disastrous campaign this year, and it starts with grabbing a victory here on opening night at home against the Winnipeg Jets. They will have to take advantage and win as many games as they can this season, if they want to remain competitive alongside Vegas and Edmonton within the division. I expect them to grab a victory in the game of the season here on Wednesday night in a close and competitive contest.

Edmonton Oilers @ Vancouver Canucks – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Edmonton Oilers had a successful season last year but they were unable to reach their ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup. They will be looking to change that this season and it starts with a quality performance in the opening game of the season on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. They have two of the best players in the National Hockey League and they will be looking to put the final piece in the puzzle and get the job done this upcoming season. Connor McDavid will look to pick up where he left off last season with another quality performance here on opening night as he looks to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a victory over the Vancouver Canucks on the road to get off to a winning start this season.

The Vancouver Canucks have a lot to improve upon if they want to become a competitive team this season and make a potential playoff run. They were very young last season and it hurt them down the stretch and several key games and they will have to be a lot better now that they come back with a lot more experience on the roster. The year to year improvement for Vancouver last season was a solid one and they will be looking to further improve upon that and hopefully grab themselves a winning record this season, even if they don’t challenge for a playoff spot. Unfortunately for them I don’t look for their opening game of the season to go too well as I look for the Edmonton Oilers to grab a victory here on Wednesday night on the road.

Colorado Avalanche @ Los Angeles Kings – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

After winning the Stanley Cup two years ago, the Colorado Avalanche went through a bit of a change with their roster as they lost a few key players, and that really showed last season with their performance as they failed to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup. They will be looking to kick off this season with a quality performance on the road in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Kings here on Wednesday night as they look to make a run at their second Stanley Cup in the last three seasons. They blew their opportunity to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup last season after they were upset by the Seattle Kraken and the opening round of the playoffs and that is something they will be looking to avoid this season with more consistent hockey night in and night out.

The Los Angeles Kings will be looking to pick up the victory at home here on Wednesday night to open up this new season. They will have their hands full with the Colorado Avalanche, but they are very capable of getting the job done in this game. As long as they play consistently throughout all three periods. This is a Los Angeles team that got the better of Colorado last season through three meetings as they picked up a pair of victories over them, one of them being in a shootout. They had a pretty successful record last season in regulation as they picked up 47 victories to 25 losses but their 10 overtime losses left them in the middle of the pack in the playoff race. That is something they will certainly have to improve upon this season but unfortunately, I don’t see them grabbing the win in this game as I look for Colorado to open up the season with a victory.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM