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

Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues NHL Picks & Predictions 10/4/2018
by Tony Sink - 10/3/2018

The Winnipeg Jets play the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center (8:00 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets and Jake Allen for the Blues. This report includes betting odds and our expert NHL picks for todays game.

Arizona Coyotes at Dallas Stars NHL Picks & Predictions 10/4/2018
by Guy Bruhn - 10/3/2018

The Arizona Coyotes play the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center (8:30 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are Antti Raanta for the Coyotes and Kari Lehtonen for the Stars. This matchup report incudes betting lines and our pick of the day for this game.

Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 10/3/2018
by Tony Sink - 10/2/2018

The Boston Bruins play the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena (7:30 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. This matchup report includes odds, betting trends and a free pick against the spread.

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Picks & Predictions 10/3/2018
by Josh Schonwald - 10/2/2018

The Montreal Canadiens play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (7:00 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are Carey Price for the Canadiens and Frederik Andersen for the Maple Leafs. This report includes betting odds and our expert NHL picks for todays game.

Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 10/3/2018
by Guy Bruhn - 10/2/2018

The Anaheim Ducks play the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center (10:30 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are John Gibson for the Ducks and Martin Jones for the Sharks. This matchup report incudes betting lines and our pick of the day for this game.

Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks NHL Parlay 10/3/2018
by Parlays Pundit - 10/2/2018

The Calgary Flames play the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena (10:00 PM EST). The expected starting goalies are Mike Smith for the Flames and Jacob Markstrom for the Canucks. We have included an expert pick and parlay for todays game against the spread.

2018 Tampa Bay Lightning Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

This is the best team in the NHL, and I am going to be very frustrated if they don't win the Stanley Cup. This isn't a new thing. I have believed in them at a high level five years now. The first year they lost in the first round after a strong regular season. The next year they lost in the Cup finals to Chicago. Then in the conference finals to Cup winner Pittsburgh. Then they somehow missed the playoffs before again losing in the conference final last year to the Cup winner. Frustrating. But this year will be different. They are a little older. They feel a little more determined. And they are very talented. This is the year.

2018 Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a place that many teams would envy, but they probably aren't too happy about it. They have been quite good the last two seasons, and they have a decent chance of being as solid again this year. But they have lost in the first round both years and haven't put up much of a fight in doing so - losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champs both times, incidentally. They are in a murky area where they are a solid enough team, but the path to being a really good team, or even a great one, is not at all clear. It could be diagnosed as St. Louis Blues syndrome, and it's not a great illness to have.

2018 Carolina Hurricanes Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

Carolina has not been good for a long time and now finds themselves in a bit of a rut. Sometimes when you are in a rut you have to do something to shake yourself out of it. And the Hurricanes did just that. They have a new coach and could have as many as seven newly-acquired players on the opening-day roster. Their ownership leaves something to be desired - more Jerry Jones than is ideal - but they aren't afraid to be aggressive, and they have quite probably made themselves significantly better. But what will it all add up to?

2018 Florida Panthers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

I felt worse for the Florida Panthers than any team last year. They have been working to get things on track for so long and have a lot to like on the squad. But when the dust settled last year their 96 points was a single point short of the postseason. It would have been enough in the West.

2018 New York Rangers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

Before this past season, the Rangers were a model of consistency. They had made the playoffs seven years in a row and in 11 of 12 years. And they had won at least one playoff series in five of the last six years, going all the way to the finals in 2014. But things did not go well last year, and they fell out of the hunt early, ultimately finishing last in the Metropolitan and 20 points behind the final slot. It was ugly. Now we have to see if it is fatal or temporary - if the team has to fully rebuild or just regroup.

2018 Philadelphia Flyers Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

Last year Philadelphia made the playoffs, but not by much. Their 98 points was good for the final spot in the Metropolitan Division behind Washington and Pittsburgh, but it was just one point ahead of the two wild-card teams, Columbus and New Jersey, and only two points ahead of the Panthers, who missed out on the postseason. One win was all of the difference for the team in the end. This year Washington and Pittsburgh are both really good again, and the wild-card race will be, if anything, more competitive.

2018 Detroit Red Wings Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

Some of these previews are more depressing than others, and this may be one of the most depressing of all. For so many years the Red Wings were the perfect franchise. They were always competitive, always in the playoffs, and always a nightmare to play against. They were what you wanted your team to imitate. But that era has ground to a serious halt, and now they are just a team that seems to be floundering and trying to figure out where they are going.

2018 Buffalo Sabres Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/14/2018

The Sabres are saying they plan to be this year's Colorado, and they might even believe it. After finishing dead last in the NHL two years ago with just 48 points, the Avalanche jumped all the way into the playoffs last year. The difference, though, is that the Avs had won their conference three years before and were reasonably competitive the two years after that.

2018 Pittsburgh Penguins Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

This is one of the easiest previews to write this year and every year. And it could be even easier if my editor would let me get away with just saying that "the Penguins are the Penguins". That's all you really need to say. They have won two of the last three Stanley Cups, they were tough in defeat last year, and they are icing basically the same team again.

2018 Washington Capitals Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

It seems almost certain that no player has ever had more fun after winning the Cup than Alex Ovechkin did this year. And he deserves it after the career he has had and the year he put together last year. Now we have to figure out if there is going to be a Stanley Cup hangover for this team - or if they are still actually hungover after their celebrations, for that matter.

2018 Ottawa Senators Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

I was going to make Ottawa the first of Eastern Conference previews I wrote this morning. But after reading Twitter for a bit it seemed like I should hold off a few hours. And it's a good thing I did. Ottawa finally made the trade that has been rumored and anticipated for months. And the return is, to be kind, underwhelming - which is pretty much what we have come to expect from the franchise. They were a mess this morning, and they are a mess now. Some things never change - even when they change dramatically.

2018 New York Islanders Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

Here is the Islanders' offseason in a nutshell - they made big upgrades in the front office and behind the bench, had real hope, and then lost all of that hope when their superstar center, who they nurtured into the player he is since drafting him, bolted for Toronto. Now everyone is sad, the future is cloudy, and maybe playing home games in two different arenas will help. I should have given a spoiler alert before that, because you pretty much know everything you need to about the team right now. But I won't leave you there, faithful readers. Oh no. We will look into things in much closer detail. I'm here for you - unlike the fans in Barclays Center have been for the Islanders since their disastrous move there.

2018 Vegas Golden Knights Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

This is the last of my Western Conference previews, and it's no coincidence that I put this off as long as I could. Like everyone else, I grossly underestimated this team last year. I thought they'd be last in the conference, and they played for the Cup. You can't be more wrong than that. I feel like I have a little better sense of them this year, but then I thought I had them figured out last year, too. So, I put this preview off so I didn't have to deal with it. Avoidance at the finest.

2018 Los Angeles Kings Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 9/13/2018

What I am about to write about the Kings is very similar to what I have written about seven or eight other Western Conference teams - and that is what makes this conference both brutally-tough and compelling. The Kings were a playoff team last year, had a solid offseason and are fully capable of being a playoff team this year. But they are not of the caliber of top teams like Winnipeg or Nashville in the conference. Instead, they are in a large group of teams that are playoff ready - far more teams than there are going to be spots.