We have loved the action throughout this impressive NHL season and now it’s the time everyone has been waiting for – playoffs time! It is sure to be a cracking playoffs this season with many high quality teams looking to stop the Tampa Bay Lightning from winning the Stanley Cup for a third time in a row. But before we get to the Stanley Cup final, teams must make it through the first round.
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Look below to find our free NHL picks for the four Round 1 games on today’s schedule!
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers – 7.00PM ET
We kick off Round 1 action in the NHL for Tuesday with a doozy, the Pittsburgh Penguins heading on over to New York to face off against the Rangers. The Penguins come into this clash splitting their final four games of the regular season. The Rangers are in a similar position, as they have split their last six games.
Marko Nadin
The New York Rangers are coming off their best regular season in the past couple of years as they finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 52-24-6 record. The Rangers are one of the best defensive teams in the league as they are ranked second with only 2.5 allowed goals per game and 7th killing the penalty in 82.3%. Offensively, the Rangers score 3 goals per game which ranked them 17th in the league but they are 4th converting 25.2% of the power play situations. The Rangers won the last 3 games against the Penguins.
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished the regular season at seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 46-25-11 record. They finished the regular season winning 3 of the last 5 games. After losing last year in the playoff round to the New York Islanders, the Penguins are hoping to advance this time against the Rangers. The Penguins are ranked 11th in the league scoring 3.3 goals per game and are 6th with 34.7 shots on goal per game. Defensively, they are fifth allowing 2.7 goals per game.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Under 5.5 (-114)
Tony Battalio
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a real dark horse contender to win the Stanley Cup trophy as long as they can remain consistent throughout the playoffs. They finished the regular season with a record of 46-25-11, as they ended up in third place of the Metropolitan Division. They won 23 games away from home this season which is tied for the least among Eastern Conference playoff teams. As they will have to find ways to grind out wins on the road over the first two games of this first round series. They ended the regular season with a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The New York Rangers were one of the biggest surprises of the 2021-22 National Hockey League regular season. Now they are one of the favorites in the race for the Stanley Cup during this postseason. They finished the year in second place of the Metropolitan Division with a record of 52-24-6. The Rangers are a serious contender to win it all as long as they can remain healthy in my opinion. As for the result of this first game of this series, I am going with New York to get the win at home.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-132)
Washington Capitals @ Florida Panthers – 7.30PM ET
The Washington Capitals will face a tough opponent in the first round of the NHL playoffs, as they take on the Florida Panthers. The Capitals have lost their final four games of the regular season, and are looking to bounce back here on the road. The Panthers lost three of their last four games, including to teams like the Lightning, Bruins and Canadiens.
Marko Nadin
The Florida Panthers were the best team in the regular season in the entire league as they finished with a 58-18-6 record. Recently, the Panthers were on a 13-game winning streak before losing 3 of the last 4 games to close out the season. The Panthers are also the best offensive team in the league scoring 4.1 goals per game on league-most 37.3 shots on goal per game. Defensively they allow 3 goals per game which ranked them 13th in the league. The Panthers have won 6 of the last 10 games against the Capitals.
The Washington Capitals are going into the playoffs as eighth seed as they finished the regular season with a 44-26-12 record. The Capitals lost the last 4 games to close out the regular season and they are going into the series against the Panthers with a “nothing to lose” attitude. The Caps score 3.3 goals per game which ranked them 13th in the league while they are 12th allowing 3 goals per game. Alex Ovechkin is coming off another great season as the veteran scored 50 goals which put him 4th in the league. Now the Russian is third on the all-time scoring list with 780 goals in his career.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-225)
Tony Battalio
The Washington Capitals are only a couple of years removed from a Stanley Cup trophy and now they will be looking to add another one to the collection. However, it’s not going to be easy as they will be going up against the top team in the Eastern Conference and the team that finished with the best overall record in the entire National Hockey League. Washington finished the year as a Wild Card team in the Metropolitan Division, as they ended up finishing the regular season with a record of 44-26-12.
The Florida Panthers are a very difficult team to beat. They are even harder to beat when they are playing on their own home ice. As they won 34 of their 41 home games this season, which is the most in the National Hockey League. They have control of home ice advantage all throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals which makes it a tough task for anyone they go up against throughout the postseason. They finished the regular season as Atlantic Division champions and with a record of 58-18-6. As for the result of this game, I am going with the Florida Panthers to get the victory.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Florida Panthers (-225)
Nashville Predators @ Colorado Avalanche – 9.30PM ET
The series between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche will kick off tonight. Both teams ended the regular season in somewhat of a slump, the Predators lost four of their last five games, while the Avalanche lost six of their last seven.
Marko Nadin
The Colorado Avalanche had a slow start of the season but as the season progressed, they picked up their form and ended up finishing on top of the Western Conference with a 56-19-7 record, only 3 points shy of the Florida Panthers who had the best record in the league. The Avalanche closed the season with 6 losses in the last 7 games but that record has a lot to do with time management of the Avalanche’s best players. Colorado is the fourth-best scoring team in the league with 3.8 goals per game while they are 9th allowing 2.8 goals per game.
The Nashville Predators had a tough finish of the regular season, fighting for a playoff spot until the very end. They finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 45-30-7 record. The Predators finished the regular season losing 4 of the last 5 games. Nashville is 12th in the league scoring 3.2 goals per game and 17th allowing 3 goals per game. The Predators are one of only few teams in the league that has a winning record against the Avalanche lately, as they have won the last three games against them.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-315)
Tony Battalio
The Nashville Predators were a pretty consistent team throughout the 2021-2022 National Hockey League regular season. Now they get the chance to prove themselves in the playoffs. They drew a very difficult first round opponent however, as they will be going up against their Central Division rivals and the best team in the National Hockey League in my opinion, the Colorado Avalanche. Nashville finished the season with a record of 45-30-7. They finished the regular season with a losing record in road games, so that is something they will need to fix quickly if they want to be competitive in this series.
The Colorado Avalanche are coming into this game having finished the regular season with the second best record in all of the National Hockey League and the best record in the Western Conference. They ended the regular season with a mark of 56-19-7. They finished with one of the best home records in the league as well, which gives them a real advantage. They hold home ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs and potentially even the Stanley Cup Finals. As for the result of this game, I am going with Colorado to get the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Colorado Avalanche (-315)
Dallas Stars @ Calgary Flames – 10.00PM ET
The final game on Tuesday night in the NHL will see the series between the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames kick off. The Stars won three of their last four games, including victories against the Kraken, Golden Knights and Ducks. The Flames have lost their last two games of the regular season. These two teams played each other in late April, and it was the Flames that came out victorious, 4-2.
Marko Nadin
The Calgary Flames finished the regular season with a 50-21-11 record which put them third in the Western Conference. The Flames shared the third-best home record in the league winning 31 games in their arena during the regular season. Calgary lost the last two games of the regular season after winning the previous three. The Flames are third in the league allowing 2.5 goals per game and sixth scoring 3.5 goals per game. They won the last two games against the Dallas Stars scoring 4 goals in each of those two.
The Dallas Stars finished the regular season seventh in the Western Conference with a 46-30-6 record. They were in the playoff race until the very end of the regular season and with 3 wins in the last 4 games, they managed to reach the postseason. The Stars are scoring only 2.8 goals per game which puts them 21st in the league while they allow 3 goals per which ranked them 14th in the league.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-225)
Tony Battalio
The Dallas Stars had to fight until the very end to squeak into the playoffs and they did. As they finished the regular season as the eighth best team in the Western Conference. They ended the year with a record of 46-30-6. Unsurprisingly, they have the least amount of road wins among the 16 Stanley Cup Playoff teams. They will need to find ways to grind out wins, especially in this series against the Calgary Flames, as they will head to Canada for at least Game 1 and 2.
The Calgary Flames seemingly came out of nowhere to win the Pacific Division this season and they are one of the three Canadian teams in the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Playoffs. All three of them have a real shot to bring Canada its first trophy in several decades in my opinion. They finished the regular season with a record of 50-21-11. They are the second best team in the West and I think they are on a collision course with the Colorado Avalanche for the Western Conference Finals. As for the result of this one, I’m going with Calgary to get the win.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-225)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
