Free NHL Picks – Monday, November 2
I posted NHL picks on a regular basis last season after I came on board here at Wagering Sports, and after missing out on the early action this season, tonight marks the first night of many that you’ll see me posting NHL picks for this season.
I didn’t do a great job of keeping track of my numbers last season (or up to this point with anything, actually), but I’ll be keeping track of my numbers for my NHL picks (and my other picks as well) from here, so you’ll be able to know when I’m hot and when I’m cold.
I had some success last season, and hopefully that will be the case this season as well. There’s a trio of games on tap for tonight, and I’ve got my picks for them below. Since the lines fluctuate prior to the dropping of the puck, I don’t have the odds for tonight’s games here, but as always, we provide the latest betting odds here, including NHL odds and much more.
Good luck tonight, and more importantly, gamble responsibly!
New York Islanders (4-4-5) vs. Edmonton Oilers (7-6-1)
The Islanders are still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but they come into tonight with three wins in a row and having picked up points in their last five games. The Islanders are 3-0-1 in their last four home games, and they’re coming off of an impressive 5-0 shutout of Northeast Division leader Buffalo on Saturday.
Edmonton is 6-2-1 at home, but the Oilers are only 1-4-0 on the road thus far this season, with that lone win coming in their road opener at Nashville. The Oilers have been blanked in their last two road games (at Vancouver and Boston), and they’ll go into tonight’s game having gone scoreless in their last 141:25 on road ice.
Islanders hot overall and at home + Oilers not being good on the road = an Islanders victory.
Philadelphia Flyers (6-4-1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-3-4)
The Flyers broke out of a two-game losing skid and ended October on a high with a 6-1 rout of struggling Carolina on Saturday night, but they’re still just 3-4-1 in their last eight after an 3-0-0 start to the season, and as a result, come into tonight tied on points with the Islanders for last in the Atlantic.
Fortunately, I see a win in the cards for the Flyers tonight. The Lightning are 0-3-1 on the road, and they’ve been outscored 19-6 in four road games. They fell 2-1 in a shootout at Carolina, but their other road games have seen them go down 6-3 (at Atlanta), 7-1 (at Ottawa), and 4-1 (at Pittsburgh).
The Flyers have scored four goals or more five times in seven home games (4-2-1 record), which doesn’t spell good news for the Lightning with the above numbers in mind. They were relatively solid defensively in their recent four-game homestand, but I don’t see them being able to slow down the Flyers enough to leave Philly with a win.
Phoenix Coyotes (9-4-0) vs. Los Angeles Kings (8-4-2)
It might be a little early to call them a contender or even say that they’re headed for the postseason, but here we are, 13 games into the new season, and the Phoenix Coyotes have one of the highest point totals in the league and look primed for one of their best seasons since moving from Winnipeg.
That hot start is thanks in large part to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who comes into tonight leading the NHL in goals against average at 1.78 and fourth in save percentage at 93%. The Coyotes have allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL (25 – one behind Buffalo’s 24), and in their current three-game win streak, have allowed only three goals
However, they could be in for a test against the Kings, who are one of the few teams to have tagged Bryzgalov for a big night. L.A. beat Phoenix 5-3 on Oct. 24, led by two goals each from Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll. The Kings are a much improved team in their own right, opening this season strong after being a cellar dweller for the last few seasons.
However, one of the league’s top scoring clubs has cooled off in the last couple of games, scoring only one goal in each of the last two games in shootout losses to San Jose and Vancouver after netting 20 times during a four-game win streak. The Kings need to get the consistency thing down if they want to be a postseason team, as they won four in a row following a season-opening loss (a 6-3 home loss to Phoenix), then lost three in a row, then won four in a row, and have lost two in a row heading into tonight.
This is already Phoenix’s third meeting of the season with their Pacific Division foes, and I’m sure they’ll be glad to not have to face them again until Dec. 10. The road team may have won both of the first two meetings, but I’m going with the home team for tonight’s showdown.
Bonus Pick: There’s been a lot of scoring in the first two meetings between these two, so even with the Coyotes’ defensive record and L.A.’s recent scoring struggles, the over on the puck line is quite tempting.
Dont Agree? Let us Know. We love hearing your thoughts and picks!
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