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

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.

Blackhawks at Blue Jackets Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2013

One of these teams seems to have forgotten how to lose a game in regulation time, while the other is really struggling to beat lousy teams. It is not at all surprising that that is the storyline heading into this game. It’s just shocking which team occupies each role. After going 24 straight games without a regulation loss, the Blackhawks have lost two in a row to Western Conference also-rans Colorado and Edmonton. Columbus, meanwhile, just had five-game winning streak snapped with a bizarre shootout loss last time out in Vancouver, but they have earned at least a point in their last eight games.

Flyers at Devils Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/13/2013

Martin Brodeur may be 40 years old, but it's pretty evident he's still the most indispensible player on the reigning Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils. Brodeur last took the ice for the Devils on Feb. 21 and beat the Capitals 3-2. That win improved the Devils to 10-3-4 (24 points), among the best in the East, and had Brodeur at 8-2-3 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Oilers at Avalanche Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/12/2013

Neither of these teams is very good. The Avalanche have 24 points in 24 games, which is good enough for 12th in the Western Conference — four points out of a playoff spot. The Oilers have played one more game and have one less point. For Colorado, the performance is about what would have been expected from their season given the talent they have and the distraction of the Ryan O’Reilly contract holdout that only ended five games ago.

Flames at Kings Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/11/2013

As a result of a rare scheduling glitch, this Monday night the Calgary Flames will face the Los Angeles Kings for a second straight time on the road after getting hammered 6-2 at the Staples Center on Saturday night. This rematch is set to get underway at 10 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on NHL Center Ice.

Red Wings at Blue Jackets Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/9/2013

When the Columbus Blue Jackets traded the only star the franchise has known, Rick Nash, to the New York Rangers this past offseason, the team was essentially starting a reboot. You couldn't blame the Jackets because even with Nash it was never relevant.

Blackhawks at Avalanche Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/8/2013

The Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche will wrap up the back end of a home-and-home series this Friday night at the Pepsi Center. The puck is set to drop at 9 p.m. (ET) this time around, and the game will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

Penguins at Flyers Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/7/2013

If the playoffs started today the Flyers would not be in them, while the Penguins would be hosting a first-round series. Despite the sub-.500 performance to date from the Flyers this year, there isn’t a rivalry I would rather watch in the NHL than the battle of Pennsylvania. There is ridiculous talent on both teams and pure hate between the squads. It’s must-see TV as far as I’m concerned.

Coyotes at Ducks Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/6/2013

You knew the NHL's schedule was going to have some odd quirks this season as the league attempted to cram in 48 regular-season games for each team in four months. However, the Coyotes and Ducks have to take the cake. The teams played back-to-back games in Phoenix on Saturday and Monday and face off again Wednesday night back in Anaheim to complete their mini-playoff series. The two don't play again until the regular-season finale.

Bruins at Capitals Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/5/2013

Last spring these two teams played one of the great playoff series in recent memory. Washington won in seven games, and for the first time in league history all seven games were decided by just one goal. It was an epic battle. Sadly, though, not much the Capitals have done since have been remotely epic, and that dims expectations for this one.

Predators at Kings Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 3/4/2013

The Nashville Predators wrap up a three-game West Coast swing this Monday night with a stop at the Staples Center to face off against the Los Angeles Kings. The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. in this Western Conference clash, and the game will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network.

Penguins at Canadiens Picks and NHL Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 3/2/2013

When I last previewed a Pittsburgh Penguins game, things were going swimmingly for Sidney Crosby and Co. The Pens were atop the Eastern Conference, right where they expected to be, and looked like the club that would face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Maybe the Pens still will be that team.