NHL Picks

Both the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers began their respective post-Olympic schedules with victories. The Sabres defeated the Devils on Wednesday, and the Panthers took down the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Both teams allowed just a single goal in their respective contests earlier this week, and that low-scoring trend should continue in this one. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots in Thursday’s win, which means we will likely see backup Daniil Tarasov between the pipes for Florida. Tarasov has been decent when called upon, as his save percentage on the season is just a tick below .900 and his goals-against average is a formidable 2.83. Tarasov should be up to the task of slowing down Tage Thompson and company.

It would be a bit surprising to see these teams find great success on the man advantage in this contest. The Buffalo powerplay has been fairly ineffective on the road this season, as the Sabres rank 23rd in the NHL with a road powerplay percentage of 17.1%. The Panthers have had their issues this season, but the penalty kill has been strong. In fact, both of these teams rank in the top-7 of the league with penalty kills operating at rates of over 82%. With the Sabres hanging on to a wild-card spot and the Panthers fighting for their playoff lives, I’m expecting this matchup to produce a physical, low-scoring total. Look to the under.

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

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The Vegas Golden Knights will take on the Washington Capitals Friday night. Both teams won their first game following the Olympic break. The Golden Knights currently rank fourth in the Western Conference. They are averaging 3.38 goals per game, eighth most in the NHL. The Golden Knights also score on 25.75% of powerplays leading to a total of 43 goals this season. While the Golden Knights scoring has been impressive, they also give up the third-fewest shots against them in the NHL. Basically, the Golden Knights have been clicking all season and they showed that in the first game back.

The Capitals currently rank ninth in the Eastern Conference. They are averaging 3.18 goals per game while giving up 2.88 goals. Those numbers are good, but there are some issues I see for the Capitals in this one. First, they rank third in powerplay opportunities against them, while the Golden Knights have the fewest power play opportunities against them. Second, the Golden Knights boast a great powerplay and the Capitals have given up 40 powerplay goals this season. Finally, if the Capitals are given a powerplay, they only score on 16.29%; the Golden Knights have a penalty kill of 80.74%. Overall, I think Vegas will control both sides of the puck in this one. Give me the Golden Knights on the money line.

Golden Knights vs Capitals prediction: Vegas ML (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Minnesota Wild are in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Mammoth in a Friday night showdown at Delta Center. The Wild are in a bit of a tough scheduling spot in this one. Minnesota defeated Colorado 5-2 in Denver on Thursday night before heading to Utah and will now face a strong Mammoth team in the second-half of a road back-to-back. The Wild are a strong road team, but the Mammoth own a strong 17-9-2 record on home ice this season. It’s also worth mentioning that Minnesota had 3 players (Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber and Matt Boldy) help Team USA win gold in Italy this past Sunday and will now be playing on a road back-to-back. All 3 of those stars played 22+ minutes on Thursday, with Hughes seeing over 26 minutes of ice time. Even if there is just a little fatigue among that group, it could pose a problem for the Wild.

The Mammoth fell to the Avalanche 4-2 on Wednesday, and I expect them to come out of the gates aggressively as they look to get back into the win column. Utah is a stout defensive team that does a great job of limiting Grade A chances from its opponents, which has helped goaltender Karel Vejmelka rack up 27 wins on the season. That is good for the #2 spot in the NHL, and he should feel great about his chances of bouncing back after allowing 4 goals on 25 shots against the Avs on Wednesday. Make it a small play, but consider backing the Mammoth on home ice.

Wild vs Mammoth prediction: Utah ML (-135) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Winnipeg Jets meet the Anaheim Ducks for a Friday night, Western Conference matchup in the NHL. Anaheim dominated Winnipeg earlier in the season in a 4-1 win, but how will this one play out? Here is our expert Jets vs. Ducks prediction to help uncover the answer.

The Ducks came out of the Olympic break hot, scoring 6 goals and beating Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers. The Pacific Division is extremely tight, with all teams from 1st to 6th within range of each other. Every point matters, which means the Ducks need to show up and earn them. On home ice, Anaheim has excelled with an 18-8-1 record, while Winnipeg has struggled on the road at 10-15-3. This Winnipeg team has had a surprisingly miserable season, and any hope for the playoffs is extremely low. Winnipeg is also missing 2/3 of their entire defense corps (Morrissey, Pionk, Fleury, Miller), as well as Nino Niederreiter. Their roster is poor as is, and a young, exciting, and reasonably deep Ducks team should be able to outmatch them in many aspects of the game. For our Jets vs. Ducks prediction, we are siding with Anaheim on the money line.

Jets vs Ducks prediction: Ducks ML (-130) available at time of publishing. Playable to -150.

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