NHL Picks

The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils kick off a new week in the NHL with an important Metropolitan Division battle. These two met at the start of December, when the Devils blew out the Rangers by a score of 5-1. Not much has changed in either team’s trajectory, but our Rangers vs. Devils will help set the score for this game.

Since their most recent matchup, the Rangers have posted a measly 3-6-0 record, while the Devils have earned a strong 5-2-1 record. I see this trend continuing in a Devils victory. There is a major dark cloud in New York. A poor record of 16-16-1 has them outside the playoff picture, so they have begun trading away key pieces and cannot find consistency nor confidence anywhere in their game. Morale and momentum are at an all-time low for this team – who was expected to contend for the Stanley Cup – and while nothing is set in stone yet, time is running out. New Jersey, on the other hand, is on home ice and feeling great about itself being within grasp of the Eastern Conference lead. This Devils team is well-balanced, and is finally taking a step as a powerful NHL team. For this afternoon tilt, we are siding with the Devils on the money line for our Rangers vs. Devils prediction.

Rangers vs. Devils prediction: New Jersey Devils money line (-200) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The NHL’s Monday night slate features another edition of the battle of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Flyers vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers look to stack 2 wins in a row, while the Penguins look to get back in the win column after losing to the Devils.

The Flyers are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, with their wins coming over the Blues, the Blue Jackets twice, and the Red Wings. Although their record over their last 10 games is about average, the strength of schedule has been pretty weak. The Flyers have given up at least 4 goals in their last 4 games, partially due to their average penalty kill, sitting at 80.2%. The Flyers do not get many shots on goal or convert on the power play at a high rate, so I am expecting their 3 goals scored per game to regress slightly moving forward.

The Penguins own a home record of 9-7-2 and are 6-3-1 over their last 10 games. They give up the most goals per game in the NHL, but they seem to be improving defensively – having allowed an average of just 3 goals per game over their last 4. The Penguins have relied on a strong penalty kill this season, which should pair nicely with the Flyers’ 26th ranked power play (15.6%). All things considered, I think Sidney Crosby and the Penguins have a big game against the Flyers in another matchup of this classic in-state rivalry.

Flyers vs Penguins prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins ML (-120). Playable at that number.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers will face-off against one another for the second time in 24 hours after the Panthers defeated the Lightning 4-2 on Sunday night. This marked the 4th consecutive win for the Panthers. The tides seem to have shifted in Florida with the Panthers now being the dominant team. The Panthers may not have a Nikita Kucherov, but they are very solid all around. Their special teams are very strong, most notably their penalty kill. They lead the league in short-handed goals, and they had 2 on the same penalty kill Sunday night against the Lightning. Furthermore, the Panthers will have Sergei Bobrovsky in net, as Spencer Knight was tending the goal on Sunday. This will give them a significant advantage, as Andrei Vasilevskiy started for the Lightning on Sunday.

This Lightning team is a veteran group that will definitely bring a strong effort after losing to the Panthers on Sunday. Their top line can compete with anyone in the NHL, but they do not have the forward depth to match the Panthers. They will have backup netminder Jonas Johansson in goal who has a brutal 3.84 GAA and .882 SVP on the season. The Panthers should be able to pick him apart. I will side with the Panthers in this one, looking to make it 2-straight against the Lightning. Give me the Panthers on the money line.

Lightning vs Panthers prediction: Panthers ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to New York to take on the Islanders for the 3rd time this season. New York has won the previous 2 matchups and are looking to complete the season sweep. The Sabres are in the midst of a 13-game losing streak and there is no end in sight. We’ve seen teams struggle before, but this is next level. They aren’t a team that is capable of generating many scoring chances, as they average 27.5 shots per game – which has resulted in scoring just 2.82 goals per game. The Islanders are scoring fewer goals per game, but their goaltending has been slightly better. The Islanders aren’t a great hockey team, and it’s tough for them to score on a regular basis – but the Sabres just can’t be trusted right now. They have failed to cover the puck line in their last 5 games, so we’ll take a slight lean and hope the Islanders can push it to 6 in a row.

Sabres vs Islanders prediction: New York Islanders -1.5 (+165) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

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The Carolina Hurricanes travel to Nashville to take on the Predators for the first time this season. Carolina will be playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, and is likely to turn to Dustin Tokarski. The veteran netminder was very good in his first start of the season, but we won’t let that performance influence us in any way. He’s a below-average goalie playing on a very good team.

The Predators have been playing some better hockey of late. They have won 3 of their last 5 games and now have 10 wins on the season. Of those 10 wins, 7 of them have come on home ice, so you could argue that they have a decent chance of winning this game. They are still scoring just 2.32 goals per game, but they are averaging over 29 shots on goal. The matchup on paper should be close, but maybe some fatigue on the Carolina side will make this game closer than it should be. It might take extra time or even a shootout for Nashville to win this game, but that’s the side we are leaning on.

Hurricanes vs Predators prediction: Nashville Predators ML+105 available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

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Helping to kick-off a new week in the NHL is the Dallas Stars and Utah Hockey Club when they battle in Utah. These Central Division rivals have met once this season, an early-December 2-1 Stars win. These two are neck and neck in the standings, and we are here to provide our Stars vs. Hockey Club predictions for this important game.

While Utah is the home team, they are playing in their 2nd game in as many nights. Utah has gone 6-0-2 since Dallas bet them earlier this month, but I see them taking their 1st regulation loss since. Dallas out-scores and out-defends Utah by wide margins, has a bonafide starting goaltender, and is a deeper team with more-proven players. Plus, Dallas should have an urgent feeling in this game, as the Stars have been middling as of late – posting a 3-5-0 record in their last 8 games. They should be able to get a great start to this one, propelling them to a win. Take them to win in regulation for our Stars vs. Hockey Club prediction.

Stars vs. Hockey Club prediction: Dallas Stars regulation money line (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable to -115.

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