NHL Picks

The NHL’s Thursday slate features a matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes look to push their winning streak to 4 games, while the Devils look to bounce back after a shutout loss to the Lightning last time out.

This will be the Hurricanes second back to back in the last week, which is a lot of hokey for anyone, even professionals. There is no doubt that the Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the league, averaging 4 goals a game, while getting the most shots on goal per game in the NHL. However, their strength of schedule has not been the strongest, meaning their stats as of right now may be slightly inflated.

The Devils will play just their third home game of November, a welcome sight for them as the Devils score 3.52 goals per home game, ranking in the top 10 in the NHL. Their expected goals per home game is 3.68, meaning they are generating legitimate scoring chances and not relying on lucky puck bounces. Their expected goals against per away game sits at 2.55, ranking in the top 10 in the NHL. The Devils have also enjoyed newly acquired Jacob Markstrom, who is the expected starter Thursday night. Markstrom has a 2.58 goals against average, with a save percentage above .900 so far, a nice safety net to their already successful defence.

I believe that the Devils will win this game, more than the Hurricanes will lose it. Back to backs are tricky enough to navigate, but 2 in the same week is near impossible. I think the tired legs of the Hurricanes will be the difference in this one. I like the Devils.

Carolina Hurricanes vs New Jersey Devils Prediction: New Jersey Devils ML (-115). Playable at that number.  

The NHL’s Wednesday slate features a matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Hurricanes look to extend their winning streak to 3 games, while the Flyers look to bounce back after losing to the Avalanche last time out. The Hurricanes epitomize the saying “defense wins championships” as they rank top 5 in the NHL in goals allowed, shots on goal allowed, and penalty kill percentage (all per game), and currently have the 4th most points in the NHL. The Hurricanes only allow 2.75 goals against per away game, which is right around where they should be as their expected goals against per away game is only 2.89, meaning there is no expected regression. The Hurricanes penalty kill is 8/9 in their last 4 games as well.

The Flyers have had a rocky start to their season, struggling on the defensive side of the ice, allowing 3.47 goals per game. One bright spot to focus on however is that their penalty kill has a 86.4% success rate, good for 4th in the NHL. The Flyers give up 3.08 goals per home game, however their expected number of goals allowed per away game is actually only 2.56. Their penalty kill holds up at home as well, with expected goals allowed being in the top third of the league. Usually whenever teams are well-coached, there are few mistakes, and a disciplined approach to the game. I believe that both the Hurricanes and the Flyers are well-coached, so I anticipate few turnovers, few penalties, and good penalty killing. I like the under in this one.

Hurricanes vs Flyers prediction: Under 6.5 (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Bet like a Caesar with this awesome new customer offer from Caesars, where you can get a welcome boost worth up to $1,000 on Caesars. Become a Caesars member 👥 using the Caesars promo code PICKSWISE1000, where you can bet on our Hurricanes vs Flyers picks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights meet for a highly anticipated matchup on this Wednesday night in the NHL. While these two are in different conferences and meet twice a year, each matchup brings us must-watch action, as they are both powerhouse and star-studded teams, and have been for years. They have identical records, earning 22 wins in 37 combined games, and will make this a great game. To get you ready for the action, we will be providing our expert Golden Knights vs. Maple Leafs predictions.

My pick for this game is the Maple Leafs, for a few different reasons. To start, they are the home team, and have been all but one time since November 3rd. As far as recent play goes, this is in Toronto’s favor as well, as they have posted a 5-1-1 record in their last 7 games, compared to Vegas who is 2-3-0 in their last 5 games. Even without Auston Matthews, these Maple Leafs have proven he is not the entire team, as star players like Mitch Marner and John Tavares as well as depth players such as Bobby McMann have all stepped up in their own way. Vegas is facing injuries as well, with Mark Stone, Victor Oloffson, and Ben Hutton all injured. A big factor in this game could be Vegas’ inability to keep the puck out of their net. They are just outside the bottom 10, giving up 3.06 goals per game. The Maple Leafs are a team you need to be tight against. This is a great matchup that should be a tight game, but when all is said and done, I’ll take the Maple Leafs on the money line.

Golden Knights vs. Maple Leafs prediction: Toronto Maple Leafs ML available at (-115) at time of writing. Playable to (-120).

Now you can bet any of our Golden Knights vs. Maple Leafs predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $150 if your first wager is a winner! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.

The Nashville Predators and Seattle Kraken return to the ice for a Western Conference clash. These two teams met just once this season on October 15th, when the Kraken exploded for a 7-3 win as the road team . This was Nashville’s fourth-straight loss in what would be a 0-6-0 start to the season, but this is a different team now as they are 6-4-3 since then. That blowout loss will not be forgotten by Nashville, so they will be looking to return the favor as the road team themselves in this on. We are here to give our Predators vs. Kraken predictions to help see if the Predators can continue to claw their way from a poor spot in the standings, or if the Kraken can earn their second win against them this season.

As mentioned, Nashville is in a completely different mindset than they were in the last meeting over a month ago. They are finally showing the results they expected at the beginning of the season, but based on their roster, they cold go even higher. A 0-1-2 stretch was just deleted after Nashville earned an impressive 5-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks, which I believe could be the kick-starter to a strong run of wins and points. I believe Nashville has a stronger roster than Seattle, more specifically much-stronger goaltending and many more star players. They are also healthier, with nobody of substance out with injury, compared to the Kraken missing stud defenseman Vince Dunn. I think this will be a strong competitive matchup, but for our overall Predators vs. Kraken prediction, we are siding with Nashville on the money line.

 Predators vs. Kraken prediction: Nashville Predators ML (-130) available at time of publishing. Playable up to (-150).

You can bet on our Predators vs. Kraken pick with BetMGM, where right now new users can activate your new BetMGM account ⚡ and get $200 in bonus bets INSTANTLY when you make a first bet of just $10!