The NHL is back and better than ever! Today there are heaps of games for us fans to sink our teeth into. With so many teams taking the ice, it is going to be an exciting day of NHL action, so you don’t want to miss this.
What will today’s games bring? Which teams will have the ability to get the all important win on the board? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain, we are in for some great games! So gear up, sit back, relax and watch. And if you like to have a bet, then you have certainly come to the right place.
Look below to find our free NHL picks, as we preview the five games on today’s schedule.
Boston Bruins @ Florida Panthers – 7.00PM EDT
The Boston Bruins are on the road when they take on the still undefeated Florida Panthers. The Bruins have a season record of 3-1-0, and last time out they won against the Sharks, 4-3. The Panthers are one of the few teams to remain undefeated, which is impressive, especially considering they have already played six games, and last time out they won against the Coyotes, 5-3.
Denis Kirilov
The Boston Bruins will have a difficult task ahead of them as they will face the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers. The game will be played in BB&T Center and Florida has already got 4 wins at home. They defeated teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Islanders, and the Colorado Avalanche. As long as players like Huberdeau, Ekblad, Barkov, Verhaeghe, and Bennett remain healthy, this Florida Panthers’ team will be a tough matchup even for the best teams in the League.
The Boston Bruins was one of the teams with less matches in the first two weeks in the NHL. They played only 4 times, winning in 3 cases and losing once to the Philadelphia Flyers away from home. The team led by Bruce Cassidy defeated the strong San Jose Sharks in their previous game, 4:3, after intense last minutes on the ice. Marchand, Pastrnak, and Bergeron are all ready to do their best against probably the toughest opponent in the East. However, I still believe that the Panthers will continue their winning streak and extend it to 7 games.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-134)
Tony Battalio
The Boston Bruins come into this high profile matchup with a record of 3-1-0 through only 4 games on the season. In their last contest, they knocked off an impressive and previously undefeated San Jose Sharks team by a score of 4-3. What lies ahead for them is another tough task against the top team in the National Hockey League, the undefeated Florida Panthers. They will need to lean heavily on stars like Brad Marchandand and Patrice Bergeron to get the job done and leave the sunshine state with a huge victory.
Found a little sunshine. ☀️ #OnTheRoad | @Enterprise pic.twitter.com/N4xwYWQlAv
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 26, 2021
As for the undefeated, Eastern Conference leading Florida Panthers, they head into this one at an impressive 6-0-0 on the season. Home ice advantage will almost certainly play a big part in this game as Florida is already 4-0-0 at the BB&T Center this season. In Florida’s last game they defeated the NHL doormat, Arizona Coyotes by a score of 5-3. Despite being at home this will be a much tougher test than Arizona for the Panthers, as Boston is a team with a lot of heart and enough firepower to make a serious Stanley Cup run. My pick for this game is the Florida Panthers moneyline as I think they will continue their impressive start to the season by pulling out a close win on Wednesday.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-134)
Michael Lantz
The Florida Panthers remain undefeated after beating the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. Coach Joel Quenneville is looking to emulate his success in Chicago and lead this Panthers team to Stanley Cup contention, after a rough first round loss last season to Tampa Bay. On Wednesday night they host the Boston Bruins, who have also looked like one of the NHL’s better teams.
Boston has been led on offense by veteran all-star Brad Marchand and have looked back on track in their last two games after a rough 6-3 loss to rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. As good as Florida has been at sizing up their competition thus far, they’re going to have to lose eventually. I’d look ahead to when we get a rematch on Saturday in Boston as being a more likely possibility then this game.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-134)
Detroit Red Wings @ Washington Capitals – 7.00PM EDT
The Detroit Red Wings end their three game road trip in Washington, when they take on the Capitals. The Red Wings have had a bit of everything so far this season, with their record standing at 3-2-1, and last time out they won against the Blackhawks, 6-3. The Capitals remain undefeated in regular time, with their two losses so far this season coming in overtime, and last time out they won against the Senators, 7-5.
Denis Kirilov
The Detroit Red Wings are one of the worst teams in the League this season and although their first 6 games don’t suggest that, they will surely have troubles in the upcoming months. They managed to reach the 50% win-ratio mark with 3 wins and 3 losses so far. However, these victorious efforts came against teams who are definitely not amongst the best ones – the Canucks, the Blue Jackets, and the Blackhawks. They have proved that they have worked on their finishing throughout the off-season, but at the same time the Red Wings struggled in defense. They conceded 3 goals to the Blackhawks and to the Flames, and on top of that, Montreal and Tampa Bay each scored 6 goals against their goaltender.
The Capitals are playing pretty well in the beginning of this campaign. Alexander Ovechkin is still performing miracles at 36 years of age, while Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson are also adding value to Washington. All of them played a fantastic game against the Ottawa Senators which finished with 12 goals, 7 for the Capitals and 5 against them. The team from the East mainly faced the most competitive teams in the League and most of those games were won by them which further supports my decision – a win for the Capitals in the Regular time.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Moneyline Inc. Tie – Washington Capitals (-135)
Tony Battalio
Alexander Ovechkin netted a pair of Goals in the last game for the Washington Capitals as his impressive chase towards “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky’s all time scoring record continues. Expect more of the same from Ovechkin when he leads the Washington Capitals into this game with one of the National Hockey League’s worst teams, the Detroit Red Wings. Washington currently sits at 4-0-2 as they have yet to be defeated in regulation this season through 6 games.
Detroit is currently 3-2-1 and has had a very mixed bag of success with wins over the Chicago Blackhawks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Vancouver Canucks. This is a home game for the Capitals, which makes the hill to climb for the Detroit Red Wings even steeper. If Detroit wants to get the job done and leave the nation’s capital with a victory, they will need solid production from Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin. Even if they do get the production from both of their stars I still think the Washington Capitals have too much offensive firepower, and I look for Alexander Ovechkin to continue to build upon his impressive start.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Washington Capitals (-205)
Michael Lantz
The only things certain in life – death, taxes and Alexander Ovechkin leading the NHL in goals. Sure, we’re still early on in the season, but the 36 year old (who’s now the 5th leading goal scorer in NHL history), just continues to find the back of the net. Ovechkin, along with his ever-trusty first line partner Evgeny Kuznetsov, have a Capitals team that some were writing off as “over the hill” still very much intact. On Wednesday night, they face a Detroit Red Wings team that’s exceeding expectations.
This young squad has seen offensive firepower from Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond who are 26, 25, and 19 respectively. They continue to build confidence as a core, hoping to bring back glory to “The Motor City” after they’ve struggled over the past couple of seasons. That being said, like any young team, they’ve been quite inconsistent. Including a tough blowout loss to a Montreal Canadiens team that’s been incredibly poor. With the game in Washington and Ovechkin breathing down Brett Hull’s neck for fourth all time on goals scored, I expect the Caps to come out on top.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Washington Capital -1.5 (+118)
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Chicago Blackhawks – 7.30PM EDT
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks are both coming off a couple of days rest when they face each other on Wednesday night. The Maple Leafs have a season record of 2-4-1, and in their last game they lost to the Hurricanes, 1-4. The Blackhawks are still yet to register their first win of the season, with their record standing at 0-5-1, and they are coming off a loss to the Red Wings, 3-6.
Denis Kirilov
The Maple Leafs travel to Chicago in an attempt to put an end to their 4-game losing streak which began at home against the New York Rangers. The team from Canada lost against the top teams in the NHL, but what concerns the management and their fans is the way those games were played. They literally didn’t stand a chance against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. This raised further concerns on the goals the team sets for the season. It will certainly be hard to fight for the Stanley Cup, but the Conference Finals seems like an achievable option for them.
On the other hand, we can see a Chicago Blackhawks’ squad that has no idea how to get a win during this campaign. They are 0-5-1, and they lost 5 of these games with 2 or more goals difference. They have only played against the Avalanche and the Penguins from the top teams in the League. Other games had to be pretty doable for the Blackhawks, but they were trashed by the Islanders, the Canucks, and the Red Wings ahead of this game. Having all this in mind, it will be hard to pick something else than a win for the Maple Leafs. However, I don’t like the smaller odds they are giving for this outcome and that’s why I will choose the Maple Leafs covering the spread and winning by at least 2 goals.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+136)
Tony Battalio
This is a game between two struggling teams, who were expected to have much different trajectories before the season started. The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be a fringe Stanley Cup contender, while the Chicago Blackhawks were at least expected to contend for a Stanley Cup playoff spot. However early on in this 2021-22 National Hockey League season, neither of these projections look to be the case. Both of these teams are coming into this game sporting losing records. However the damage is at least repairable for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they are only a few games below a .500 winning percentage.
This week’s @socios Plays of the Week:
1. Tyler Johnson will not be denied pic.twitter.com/n2fLhXVWWP
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 25, 2021
As for the Chicago Blackhawks they have yet to even record a victory through 6 games for the season. Either one of these teams would love to grab a win here and potentially jump start their season and get things flowing in the right direction again. Toronto is the easy choice in this one, not only because of Chicago’s performance this season but also now because they are without superstar Patrick Kane for an undisclosed amount of time.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-178)
Michael Lantz
Chicago has to be one of the league’s biggest disappointments thus far. Fans were riding high in the offseason when the team brought in star defender Seth Jones and Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury. Unfortunately for Chicago, they sit at an embarrassing 0-5-1, Jones has looked off, and GM Stan Bowman stepped down due to the front office being under investigation concerning a 2010 sexual assault. The Blackhawks are currently the NHL’s blackeye.
On Wednesday night they host the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that also has had its fair share of issues. The Leafs are 2-4-1, but started the season without star Auston Matthews for the first three games. Even after Matthews’ return, the Leafs have gone 0-3-1 with Matthews only scoring in Monday night’s 4-1 loss to Carolina. In this battle of the league’s biggest letdowns through the first two weeks, I think Chicago just has too many distractions, with Matthews finally getting a goal the other night I expect him to take off.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs (-178)
Vegas Golden Knights @ Dallas Stars – 8.30PM EDT
The Vegas Golden Knights end their two game road trip in Dallas, when they take on the Stars. The Golden Knights aren’t off to the start they would have hoped for, with their record currently standing at 2-4-0, but last time out they got a solid victory against the Avalanche, 3-1. The Stars are off to an inconsistent start this season, with their record standing at 3-3-0, and in their last game they lost to the Blue Jackets, 1-4.
Denis Kirilov
After defeating the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, 1:3, and getting their first major victory of the season, the Golden Knights will look to make it two from two against the Dallas Stars. They are still far away from playing the best hockey they are capable of, but it was better than nothing. With some of their key players still missing, it’s going to be really hard for them to take the leap they need.
On the other hand, the Dallas Stars are also finding it hard to have a good game this year. They have 3 clean losses and 3 wins that came after overtime or penalties. Their victims were the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Los Angeles Kings. The team from Dallas played the majority of the matches since the beginning of the season on the road, and they played at home only against the Kings – a match that finished 2:2 in Regular time and the Stars eventually got the better of the Kings with a goal in the overtime. I think that the best option here is choosing a game with less goals than expected.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Under 5.5 (-122)
Tony Battalio
The Las Vegas Golden Knights come into this game following last night’s victory over the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-1. This will be the second game of their two game road trip. I will be looking for the Golden Knights to continue to turn their season around after a less than impressive 2-4-0 start to the campaign. Standing in their way will be the 3-3-0 Dallas Stars coming off of a 4-1 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Both of these teams could use a decisive victory to get their seasons heading in the right direction. Dallas and Las Vegas were both expected to contend for a Western Conference playoff spot at season’s end, so despite the sloppy starts from both, this could still end up being a preview of the Stanley Cup playoffs later on this year. As for the game, despite it being a home game for Dallas, I like Las Vegas in this one to not quite cover the spread, but still pull out a victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Vegas Golden Knights (+138)
Michael Lantz
After four straight losses, the Vegas Golden Knights finally looked like the team many predicted would be a Stanley Cup contender. They took out another cup favorite in Colorado Avalanche, beating them 3-1 on the road. It was just the win they needed. The Golden Knights have been struggling mightily due to the injuries to Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. Now they head down to Dallas to take on a Stars team that has been up and down early in the season.
The Stars have relied heavily on blue liner Miro Heiskanen to provide points through six games. They’ll need guys like Tyler Seguin to pick it up if they want to be a true threat in the Western Conference. Big win in Vegas could give them a bit more confidence, even if the Golden Knights are missing a few guys. A road win could spark them to bigger things. I don’t trust the Golden Knights to play consistent with those two stars out so I’ll pick the Stars.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Dallas Stars (-166)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Edmonton Oilers – 10.00PM EDT
The Philadelphia Flyers face a tough task when they take on the undefeated Edmonton Oilers, who are also playing at home. The Flyers have a current season record of 2-1-1, and last time out they lost to the Panthers, 2-4. The Oilers have been unstoppable so far this season, and in their last game they won, 5-3, to the Golden Knights.
Denis Kirilov
The Philadelphia Flyers have already had their ups and downs in the early games of the 2021/22 NHL season. They lost their opener against the Vancouver Canucks after penalties. Later on, they smashed a halting Seattle Kraken team, 6:1, and came out victorious against the Boston Bruins as well. However, in their last game they didn’t manage to stop the flying Florida Panthers as they lost after leading 2:1 in the last minutes of P2.
The Edmonton Oilers continue struggling with injuries as a total of six players are sidelined for the game against the Phillies. However, this hasn’t had any negative impact for the team so far. They are in a 9-game winning streak at the moment (four of which coming from their preseason matchups). The team has been scoring goals like crazy as they have averaged 4.8 goals per game in their first five games of the season. Both teams proved that they can scare any defense that’s put in front of them and I think tomorrow’s game won’t be any different. Hence, I suggest taking the over 6.5 goals in the match as the best option in my opinion.
Denis’ NHL Pick: Over 6.5 (-128)
Tony Battalio
The Philadelphia Flyers face perhaps their toughest test of the season so far, Wednesday night on the road in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Philadelphia comes into this game with a record of 2-1-1, after losing to the Florida Panthers by a score of 4-2 the last time they stepped on the ice. They will need to rely heavily on players like Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson if they want to take down the undefeated Edmonton Oilers on the road in a hostile environment in this game.
Ready and waiting for the puck to drop on our first road trip of the season. #PHIvsEDM pic.twitter.com/8FSHE44WBn
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 26, 2021
As for the previously mentioned undefeated Edmonton Oilers, they currently sit at an impressive 5-0-0 after beating the Las Vegas Golden Knights by a 5-3 score their last time out. Led by Connor McDavid’s impressive 13 total points through 5 games, he leads the team in Total Points, Goals, and Assists, a feat that is hard to accomplish at any level of hockey, especially in the National Hockey League. As for the game I think the Oilers will continue their impressive start to the season, and so will Connor McDavid as he will look to build on his impressive scoring and assisting numbers.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-154)
Michael Lantz
The Edmonton Oilers have started the season 5-0 and to absolutely no surprise Conor McDavid is leading the league in points—something you can expect to see until the end of the season. The Oilers play host to the Philadelphia Flyers, a team fully capable of going on scoring sprees themselves.
Philly scored 16 goals in their first three games, before being brought down to earth by an undefeated Florida Panthers team who beat them 4-2. Still, the Flyers have had scoring come from all lines, showing that they have the depth to take them big places when it comes to the end of the season. With two teams that provide so much explosion, I think the safest bet in this one is the over. With the way Edomonton has been playing, they could maybe even score the over on their own.
Michael’s NHL Pick: Over 6.5 (-128)
If you’re in need of 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.
