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

Penguins at Hurricanes Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 4/9/2013

One team needs to get back on track after a brief blip on their seemingly inevitable march to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins also need to shake a whole bunch of recent bad luck. The other team just needs this season to end. For the Hurricanes the playoffs are still a mathematical possibility but nothing more. It’s a mismatch, but there are enough storylines in this one to make for a reasonably interesting game for a Tuesday night in April.

Oilers at Ducks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 4/8/2013

The Edmonton Oilers will try and make up some ground in their chase for a playoff spot in the West this Monday night against one of the top two teams in the conference when they clash with the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. This game is set to get underway at 10:00 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on NHL Center Ice.

Capitals at Panthers Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 4/6/2013

When Washington visits south Florida to face the Panthers on Saturday night, it will be two teams with vastly different outlooks on the rest of the regular season even though for a while the clubs looked very similar (i.e. bad).

Rangers at Penguins Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 4/5/2013

The New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins will wrap up the back end of a home-and-home series this Friday night at the CONSOL Energy Center in another huge Atlantic Division showdown. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

Blue Jackets at Predators Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2013

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators have virtually identical records. Nashville has 38 points, thanks to 15 wins, 14 losses and eight overtime losses. Columbus has played one fewer game and has one less point thanks to one less overtime loss. Right now 38 points is enough for the final playoff spot in the West, though St. Louis currently has played three fewer points than Nashville, so they have the edge.

Canadiens at Flyers Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 4/3/2013

The NHL's trade deadline is Wednesday, and you can probably only count maybe 6-8 teams who are 100 percent sellers and not buyers. Some teams are selling not because they are out of the playoff race but want a head start on getting under next year's salary cap, which drops from around $70 million to $64 million

Sabres at Penguins Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 4/2/2013

Sometimes you have to really work to find a storyline or two to make a game interesting — especially in a situation like this where one team is clearly not heading to the playoffs. What makes this game so very interesting, though, is that there are so many storylines to look at that it is almost ridiculous. Let’s just look at six that are going to be a factor in this one:

Rangers at Canadiens Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/30/2013

Are the New York Rangers actually showing fiscal restraint? Or do they not have much that teams want in trade? The Blueshirts were never going to get Calgary star Jarome Iginla, who shockingly landed with the absolutely loaded Pittsburgh Penguins. Iginla didn’t have the Rangers among the few teams he would waive his no-trade clause for. Iginla would be exactly what the Rangers need as somehow the talented group ranks second-to-last in the NHL in goals per game at 2.27. Think New York is happy he’s going to Pittsburgh?

Ducks at Blackhawks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/29/2013

The Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks will square off against one another this Friday night at the United Center in what should be a preview of this season’s Western Conference Finals. The game is slated to get underway at 8:30 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

Islanders at Flyers Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/28/2013

One team is deep in the playoff hunt but can’t afford to lose. The other one is pretty much just playing out the string unless miracles start to happen very soon. Given these teams and what they have done in recent years, it isn’t that surprising that that is the storyline. What is shocking, though, is it is New York that is in the hunt and the Flyers that have wasted their season.

Ducks at Sharks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/27/2013

Perhaps I jinxed the Anaheim Ducks. Last Wednesday, Anaheim hosted the Chicago Blackhawks in easily the most-anticipated game of the season thus far. It was a tremendous game, too, with the Ducks scoring three goals in the final five minutes-plus to win 4-2 and extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 13 games. I had recommended Anaheim and the “under” 5.5 goals – the “over” hit on an empty-netter in the final seconds.

Canadiens at Penguins Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/26/2013

The last time these teams met was March 2. The Penguins won 7-6 in an overtime game that goes down as one of the craziest games played all season. Pittsburgh hasn’t lost since. That’s a 12-game winning streak — enough to vault them past these Canadiens and into first place in the conference and just a point behind Chicago for the overall lead in the league. They have won three games in overtime, eight games by a single goal, and they have beaten Boston, Toronto and Philadelphia two times each.

Sharks at Wild Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/23/2013

“Winning” the offseason in terms of free agency more often than not doesn’t lead to a championship. In the NFL for example, I give you Dan Snyder’s free-spending Washington Redskins. They only got good by drafting Robert Griffin III. In the NHL, you can include the New York Rangers in that group. Sure, the Blueshirts have been a good team in recent years and reached the East Finals last season, but they still haven’t been back to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1994 despite always adding big-money free agents.

Red Wings at Ducks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/22/2013

The Detroit Red Wings will try and make up some ground in the West this Friday night against one of the top two teams in the conference when they clash with the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. This game is set to get underway at 10:00 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

Flames at Predators Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/21/2013

This is not a battle of NHL titans. In fact, these are two pretty lousy teams. The Flames are second to last in the Western Conference with 26 points in 27 games. Nashville is two points better, but it has taken them three more games to get there, so they aren’t better off. Things aren’t yet dire for the two teams, but they are awfully close. It takes 30 points to be in a playoff spot right now, but there are five teams between the Flames and the playoffs. If these teams don’t start to figure out how to play soon, then they’ll run out of time and fall short even with a late-season run.

Blackhawks at Ducks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/20/2013

I don't know about you, but I'll be switching over around halftime from the late First Four NCAA Tournament game between No. 13 seeds La Salle and Boise State on Wednesday night to this matchup between the Blackhawks and Ducks as easily the two best teams in the NHL this season face off. It's also Chicago's lone visit to Anaheim in the regular season.

Capitals at Penguins Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/19/2013

If the NHL had played out to an ideal script, this would be an epic matchup between the two biggest stars in the league. It certainly hasn’t turned out that way. Pittsburgh is doing their part. Sidney Crosby is unquestionably the best player on the planet, and his team has the most points in the Eastern Conference after rolling off a nine-game winning streak that they are looking to extend here. They don’t mess around, either — they are the only team in the league that has yet to lose in overtime.

Coyotes at Kings Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/18/2013

The Phoenix Coyotes will try and make up some ground in the Western Conference Playoff race this Monday night when they face the division-rival Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center. The game is set to get underway at 10:30 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on NHL Center Ice.

Hurricanes at Lightning Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/16/2013

Perhaps no team is more exciting to watch these days in the NHL than the Tampa Bay Lightning -- but only if you like the puck in the back of the net. Led by Steven Stamkos, who leads the NHL with 20 goals, the Bolts are No. 2 in the NHL in scoring at 3.26 goals per game. The problem is that Tampa Bay's goaltending is shaky, so the Bolts are tied for allowing the fifth-most goals per game at 3.04. That's why the Lightning are 11-15-1, and only Buffalo has fewer points in the Eastern Conference.

Devils at Flyers Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/15/2013

The New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers will lace them up again this Friday night in the back-end of this Atlantic Division home-and-home series. Game time from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.