NHL Picks

The Detroit Red Wings will be down in South Florida on Tuesday night to take on the Panthers. This will be the second meeting between these teams in four days. The Panthers beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Friday night. This game means a lot more for the Red Wings as they are just hanging onto third place in the Atlantic Division, while the Panthers seem to have mailed it in on this season. Losing two games in a row to a team that has their eyes set on next season is unacceptable in the late stages of the season. Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat have been leading the way offensively for the Red Wings, they have 65 and 63 points respectively. DeBrincat has goals in three of his last four games, look for him to contribute to the scoring for the Red Wings. The Red Wings are a much better defensive team than the Panthers, they are allowing 2.92 goals per game compared to the 3.32 that the Panthers average. This is largely due to the weak play of netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Red Wings are playing desperate hockey right now and I expect them to come out with a good performance. They are underdogs in this game which means we are getting good value on a solid team. Give me the Red Wings in this one.

Red Wings vs. Panthers prediction: Red Wings ml (+105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Buffalo Sabres enter Tuesday night’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks coming off arguably the game of the season. Buffalo defeated Tampa Bay in a wild back-and-forth contest that resulted in an 8-7 win for the Sabres. The chaotic win moved the Sabres up to the top spot in the Atlantic division, as they now own 84 points on the season. As impressive as Sunday’s win was, this may be a good time to fade Buffalo. After such an emotional win, a bit of a natural let down can be expected in the following game. Plus, the Sharks are a formidable opponent who are capable of giving the red-hot Sabres all they can handle.

It’s clear the Sharks are heading in the right direction. Macklin Celebrini has emerged into a bonafide superstar in his 2nd NHL season at just 19 years of age, and the young core around him consisting of Will Smith, William Eklund, and Michael Misa gives San Jose a bright future ahead. They enter this contest with wins in 3 of their last 5 games, and the 2 losses in that stretch have come in overtime. They are playing solid hockey right now, and have an extra day of rest over the Sabres as they haven’t played since Saturday against the Islanders. The Sabres are overwhelming favorites, for a reason, but don’t be surprised if the Sharks make this one interesting. Consider backing San Jose +1.5 on the puck line.

Sharks vs Sabres prediction: Sharks +1.5 (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Things are spiraling out of control for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They will be looking to put an end to their seven-game losing streak when they are in Montreal on Tuesday night. The Montreal Canadiens are in the middle of a tight playoff race, and I expect they will come out flying against their long-time rivals. The Canadiens are the second-best offensive team in the league, averaging 3.55 goals per game. They will be going up against the third-worst defensive team in the league that average 3.48 goals against per game. The home ice advantage at the Bell Centre is a real thing, and the Canadiens are a very good home team. They are 17-11-2 on home ice. On the flip side of this, the Leafs are a very poor road team. They are 11-15-4 on the road this season.

The Leafs have not managed to score more than three goals in a game in their last seven games. This won’t be enough to keep up with the potent offense of the Canadiens. Look for the fast-paced game that the Canadiens play to cause trouble for the Leafs. Give me the Canadiens to win this one in regulation time.

Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens prediction: Canadiens 3-way ml (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The New York Islanders will take on the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night. The Islanders currently sit at 7^th in the Eastern conference, though it is a tight race for the bottom playoff spots. They have won 4 of their last 6 games since the Olympic break. The Islanders average 2.88 goals per game which seems low but they allow the 5^th fewest goals per game in the NHL. On the season, their goaltenders save 90.1% of shots which ranks 3^rd in the NHL. This will be a redemption spot for the Islanders as they outshot the Blues in their head-to-head meeting earlier this year but lost by a score of 2-1.

For the Blues, they are riding a 4-game win streak. This is wildly impressive as they rank 13^th in the Western Conference and have only 34 points through their 32 home games. On the season, they rank 28^th only averaging 2.62 goals per game. Even through their last 5 games, they are averaging under 3 goals per game. The big difference is that they have only given up 8 goals in that time. This is also surprising as they rank 27^th in save percentage this season. Overall, the Blues are shocking us all but I think that comes to an end tonight. The Islanders are motivated to keep their playoff spot and have the more steady defense on the season. I am taking the Islanders on the money line.

Islanders vs. Blues Prediction: Islanders ML (-125) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Utah Mammoth and Minnesota Wild are set for a Tuesday night clash at Grand Casino Arena. These teams met just a few weeks ago on February 27 with the Mammoth claiming a 5-2 victory. Utah did a great job f limiting Minnesota’s high-flying offensive attack in that contest, as they held Minnesota to just 23 shots on goal. That follows a common theme for Utah this season, who is among the stingiest defensive teams in the NHL. The Mammoth are allowing 25.9 shots on goal per game, which ranked 5th in the league. The Mammoth also bolstered their back end even more with the addition of Mackenzie Weegar at the trade deadline. His presence should help Utah remain as a tough team to play against.

After allowing 5 goals in that February 27 matchup in Utah, I am expecting a more spirited defensive effort from the Wild this time around. The Wild have allowed just 9 total goals in their 4 games since that contest, so they have already started to get things going in the right direction. In addition, Utah is playing on the second half of a road back-to-back after playing in Chicago on Monday night, so fatigue may be an issue. Furthermore, Utah’s goals per game average drops from 3.40 at home to 3.00 on the road. After 7 total goals were scored in the last meeting between these teams, I am looking for this matchup to be a bit more lower-scoring. Look to the under.

Mammoth vs Wild prediction: Under 5.5 (+115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.