NHL Picks

The Florida Panthers will take on the New York Rangers Sunday afternoon. Both teams rank at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, which was not the expectation. The Panthers are coming off a rough loss to the New York Islanders in which they led 2-0 early but lost by a score of 5-2. The defensive crumble have been a common theme this season for the Panthers, as they give up 3.31 goals per game. The Panthers’ struggles get even worse when away from Florida; they have lost 9 of their last 11 away games. Basically, the Panthers seem unmotivated to keep playing this season.

For the Rangers, they are coming off a huge 6-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. While they rank last in the Eastern Conference and have the worst home form, the most recent game showed some momentum. On the season, the Rangers are averaging 2.81 goals per game, but I think they find the back of the net today. Through the Panthers last 10 away games, they have allowed 41 total goals. The Rangers offense should be able to sneak goals past the lack-luster Panthers defense. I am taking the Rangers on the money line.

Panthers vs. Rangers Prediction: NY Rangers ML (-140) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

As much as people don’t want to believe in the 2025-26 version of the Boston Bruins, they continue to keep winning games. In fact, since the calendar turned to 2026, they have been the 2nd-best team in the league, behind only the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins are 21-6-6 over that span, and are increasing their chances at an improbable playoff appearance as the games go by, including a massive 6-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon.

The problem for the Bruins is that the Columbus Blue Jackets have the 5th-best record over that same span, and if you cut down that sample size even more, they have an even better winning percentage since hiring Rick Bowness to be their head coach. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, that run of good play has been cooling off lately, winning just 1 of their past 4 games after blowing a third period lead on Saturday to a struggling San Jose Sharks team.

The Bruins seemed like a potential fade in this matchup, given the fact that Jeremy Swayman started on Saturday and Joonas Korpisalo is a massive drop-off. However, head coach Marco Sturm’s pre-game comments implied that Swayman had enough rest this week to start both games of the back-to-back. If that is the case, I can see the Bruins getting back-to-back wins here, as I’m not sure, in their current forms, that they should be this big of an underdog to the Blue Jackets.

Bruins vs Blue Jackets prediction: Boston Bruins ML (+125) available at time of publishing. Playable to (+105).

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It’ll be a tough turnaround for the Montreal Canadiens after a Saturday evening win over the Nashville Predators. The Canadiens put forth a great effort to get the 4-1 win and move one step closer to clinching a playoff spot, but having to travel to Carolina to take on a team that has been waiting at home since their Saturday matinee against the New Jersey Devils will be a difficult ask. The Hurricanes had a relatively easy 5-2 win over the Devils, leaving no doubt why they are at the top of the Atlantic Division.

With Brandon Bussi starting on Saturday, it looks like the Hurricanes will turn back to Frederik Andersen, whose last game came in a 5-2 loss to the Canadiens earlier this week. He allowed four goals on 18 shots, which is interesting considering the Hurricanes also allowed just 19 shots on Saturday night. Rod Brind’Amour’s man-to-man defense has been a point of contention in the past, but with those defensive performances in their last two games, Carolina might be figuring something out.

The Canadiens will likely turn to Jakub Dobes after Jacob Fowler’s start on Saturday night. Dobes has been lights out lately, allowing two or fewer goals in four consecutive games, but after Carolina’s loss to Montreal and Dobes earlier this week, it feels like a perfect time for them to bounce back at home.

One interesting thing for bettors to monitor on Sunday is whether the Canadiens take this opportunity to give Sam Montembeault another start. It looks like Dobes and Fowler are carrying the ball the rest of the way, and I’m still taking the Hurricanes if it is Dobes, but if Montembeault gets the net in this one, the Hurricanes’ chances are even better.

Canadiens vs Hurricanes prediction: Carolina Hurricanes ML (-170) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The New Jersey Devils will be hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. The Devils will be playing their second game in consecutive days, while the Blackhawks were sitting idle on Saturday. Both of these teams are far removed from playoff contention and are just playing for pride at this point. For teams out of the playoff hunt, defensive structure tends to break down later in the season. In the last eight games the Devils have played, the over is 7-1. For the Blackhawks, it is 3-0 in their last three games played. There are some highly skilled offensive players on both of these teams with the likes of Connor Bedard and Jack Hughes. I expect them to be driving the offense in this game. The Blackhawks are one of the weaker defensive teams in the league, averaging 3.21 goals against per game.

With both teams eliminated from the playoffs, I am expecting a game with not too much attention being paid to the defensive side of things. Look for the offense to take over in this game. Give me the over in this one.

Blackhawks vs. Devils prediction: Over 6.0 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Dallas Stars will be visiting the red-hot Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night. The Flyers come into this game with a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games played. They find themselves only three points outside of a wildcard playoff spot with only 10 games remaining. They have one game in hand on all of the teams they are chasing, so they will be looking to put an extra two points in the bank. Both of these teams are coming off of a win on Saturday, so there is no clear rest advantage here.

The Flyers need every point they can get from here on out. Their coach Rick Tocchet will have them fully prepared to give everything they have against the Stars on Sunday. It won’t be easy as the Stars are one of the most complete teams in the NHL. The Flyers will be playing with a little more desperation than the Stars in this game, and I think that will be the deciding factor. Give me the Flyers to get it done on home ice today.

Stars vs. Flyers prediction: Flyers ML (+135) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.