NHL Picks (Today's Free Predictions, Tips, Parlays)

Free NHL Picks: Maple Leafs at Wild Odds
by George Monroy - 11/12/2013

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a bit of a slump and have not won a game in regulation since the end of October. The team needed overtime and a shootout to beat the New Jersey Devils last week, and they have started the second month of the season losing two of their first three games. The Maple Leafs have fallen to the third spot in the Atlantic Division, but they will be looking to turn things around over the next few games as they play a very good Minnesota Wild team on Wednesday night and then head to Buffalo for a home-and-road situation against the struggling Sabres.

Free NHL Picks: Oilers at Flyers Odds
by George Monroy - 11/8/2013

Saturday’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers is a battle between two of the NHL’s worst teams. Both squads have a combined 19 points, which wouldn’t be good enough to make the playoffs in the Western Conference as nine teams already have 20 points or more. The matchup is probably not circled as must-see television on any fan’s calendar, but there is value to be had wagering on this game.

Free NHL Picks: Devils at Maple Leafs Odds
by George Monroy - 11/7/2013

The New Jersey Devils may only have three wins on the season, but two of them came back-to-back against the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning—two of the Eastern Conference’s premiere teams. Unfortunately, other than that small span of excellent play, the Devils have not had much to hang their hats on over the first month of the season.

Free NHL Picks: Rangers at Blue Jackets Odds
by George Monroy - 11/6/2013

The New York Rangers have made a drastic improvement on defense over the last few games and are finally starting to give the type of effort that Coach Alain Vigneault had envisioned when he took over the team during the offseason. The next step for the Rangers is to put together a solid winning streak and begin to move up the standings, where they currently sit near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.

Free NHL Picks: Predators at Avalanche Odds
by George Monroy - 11/5/2013

It took the Colorado Avalanche six wins in a row before they finally lost their first game of the season last month. The team is now in the middle of another six-game win streak, but this time they hope to extend it even further when they play the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night. Colorado has been on a masterful pace to start the season and has only one loss during their first 13 games of the year.

Free NHL Picks: Senators at Blue Jackets Odds
by George Monroy - 11/4/2013

The Columbus Blue Jackets received a bit of good news on Saturday when the league announced that the team would be hosting the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Nationwide Arena. Columbus was promised the event last season, but the game was canceled due to the lockout-shortened schedule. The announcement, which was made during the first period of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the only piece of good news the Blue Jackets have received as of late.

Free NHL Picks: Ducks at Sabres Odds
by George Monroy - 11/1/2013

The Buffalo Sabres have been the NHL’s punching bag over the first month of the season and have provided bettors with more than a few excellent gambling opportunities. The team has managed to earn only one regulation win and five points over the first 15 games of the year. Unfortunately, things are about to get even worse for Buffalo as they start a brutal Western Conference trip where they play the Anaheim Ducks twice, the Los Angeles Kings twice and the San Jose Sharks over the next 10 days.

Free NHL Picks: Blues at Panthers Odds
by George Monroy - 10/31/2013

The Western Conference is a dog-eat-dog world. The St. Louis Blues found that out after being out of action for seven days last week. When the team returned, they had gone from first place in the West to seventh place in a matter of days. However, that is how fast-paced things are in the Conference this season. The Blues will have a chance to reclaim their spot atop the standings in the coming days when the team plays four games over the next week—three of which are on the road.

Free NHL Picks: Sabres at Rangers Odds
by George Monroy - 10/30/2013

The Buffalo Sabres’ newly-acquired forward, Matt Moulson, scored two goals in his debut with the team on Monday and nearly beat the Dallas Stars by himself. The Sabres traded for Moulson last week by sending team co-captain Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders. In return Buffalo also received a first- and second-round draft pick. The move wasn’t enough to get the Sabres their first home win of the season, but Moulson did provide an injection of offensive energy during his 20 minutes on the ice.

Free NHL Picks: Red Wings at Canucks Odds
by George Monroy - 10/29/2013

Wednesday night’s matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks will be a battle of streaks. Detroit is currently on a four-game slide and has not won since they beat the Colorado Avalanche 13 days ago. Vancouver, on the other hand, is in the middle of a four-game win streak that includes a huge victory over the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues on Friday.

Free NHL Picks: Maple Leafs at Oilers Odds
by George Monroy - 10/28/2013

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have gotten their most impressive win of the young season on Saturday when the team shut down the Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins during a 4-1 victory. Toronto’s hot start to the season has them tied for the Atlantic Division lead with the Tampa Bay Lightning with 16 points apiece. Before the year began, most sportsbooks and NHL experts had the Maple Leafs as a mid-tier team receiving the eighth- or ninth-best odds to win the Conference.

Free NHL Picks: Sabres at Panthers Odds
by George Monroy - 10/24/2013

The Buffalo Sabres season has gone from bad to worse as forward Patrick Kaleta’s appeal of his 10-game suspension for hitting Columbus Blue Jacket’s defensemen Jack Johnson in the head was denied on Thursday. Kaleta is a repeat offender and was given a stiffer-than-usual penalty for the potentially-dangerous contact, which did not injure Johnson.

Free NHL Picks: Coyotes at Kings Odds
by George Monroy - 10/23/2013

The Los Angeles Kings are in the third game of an extended homestand where they will play eight of their next nine matchups inside of the Staples Centers. The team will probably be looking to put together a solid winning streak in order to gain some ground on a packed Pacific Division that already has four teams with six or more victories. Los Angeles may not have started the season the way it would have wanted to and suffered two losses during their first three games.

Free NHL Picks: Blackhawks at Panthers Odds
by George Monroy - 10/21/2013

The Florida Panthers have not won two games in a row all season, and to be quite honest they will have a difficult time making that happen when the team faces the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Florida is coming off a 2-1 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, and they will try to take advantage of an extended homestand inside the BB&T Center.

Free NHL Picks: Oilers at Senators Odds
by George Monroy - 10/18/2013

The Edmonton Oilers are in the middle of a brutal portion of their schedule and will visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night to play their fifth straight road game in a seven-day span. The team is finishing out an eight road game stretch that will be interrupted by one home game next Thursday. Edmonton only has one win on the season and is probably building an insurmountable hole two weeks into the year.

Free NHL Picks: Blues at Jets Odds
by George Monroy - 10/17/2013

The St. Louis Blues opened up the season on a ridiculous pace that saw the team win its first four games by a 19-7 margin. The Blues then played a high-profile matchup against the also-undefeated San Jose Sharks that quickly go out of control as St. Louis’ forward Maxim Lapierre left Sharks’ defensemen Dan Boyle unconscious after a brutal hit from behind. Boyle left the game on a stretcher, and Lapierre was ejected and suspended indefinitely pending an in-person hearing.

Free NHL Picks: Blue Jackets at Canadiens Odds
by George Monroy - 10/16/2013

The Montreal Canadiens will open up a five-game homestand inside the Bell Centre when the team faces the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. The Canadeins are riding a three-game winning streak and have held their opponents to only two goals during that time. Montreal’s goaltender, Carey Price, has been fantastic in that span and earned his 20th-career shutout against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Prices’ production at the net has masked the Canadiens’ lack of puck control as of late.

Free NHL Picks: Flames at Ducks Odds
by George Monroy - 10/15/2013

The Calgary Flames will take a trip to the Honda Center on Wednesday night to face a surging Anaheim Ducks team has won four games in a row after losing its first game of the season. The Ducks have outscored their opponents 17-6 during that stretch and are playing some of the best hockey in the league. The Flames have also played well to begin the year and have scored eight points on three wins and two overtime losses.

Free NHL Picks: Oilers at Penguins Odds
by George Monroy - 10/14/2013

The Edmonton Oilers started off the season with four losses in their first five games, and to make matters even worse the team now heads to Pittsburgh to face the division-leading Penguins on the second night of a road back-to-back. The Oilers were a team that many experts believed would make the playoffs and, at minimum, be a solid regular-season team. However, the beginning of the season has not gone Edmonton’s way, and unfortunately things are about to get tougher for the team.

Free NHL Picks: Wild at Sabres Odds
by George Monroy - 10/14/2013

The Minnesota Wild will begin a four-game road trip Monday night when the team travels to Buffalo for a matchup against the Sabres. The game will take place in the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York, as the Sabres try to win their first game of the season. Buffalo has six straight losses to start the year and has been outscored 16-6 over those games. The team only has one point so far this season, which came from an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning nearly a week ago.