Free NHL Picks Contest ($100): Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a tricky team. Sidney Crosby appears to be back to his old scoring ways, but the Penguins have struggled this year and could end up missing the playoffs. They still have no defense, and their top scorers might be showing their age as they can no longer carry this Pittsburgh Penguins team through its own mediocrity and one-dimensional approach.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are like a new, younger version of the Pittsburgh Penguins with a better goalie. As a result, they’ve had more sustained success.  ... 

NHL Picks: Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks

NHL Picks: Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks The Minnesota Wild are a pretty good team. As I’ve said in countless NHL Picks Contest posts and game predictions, I am absolutely baffled by their sustained success at times. I also don’t understand how they can win so much and go into such a lengthy skid right now. The Minnesota Wild are a tough team to predict, because they have so much talent but lack superstar goaltending or defensive depth.

The Anaheim Ducks are probably the biggest disappointment in the NHL this season. Predictions for them to have one of the most successful  ... 

NHL Picks: Edmonton Oilers at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Picks: Edmonton Oilers at Tampa Bay Lightning I know the line is a little sharp here but I’m basically using the idea of a progression from our baseball forums in an NHL hockey application. The Florida Panthers fell short last night in a system play for me, but the same ideas apply for me as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road.

The Edmonton Oilers are a long way from home. They lost their best forward, which makes two top scorers now on the bench. They lack depth to begin with. The team is  ... 

Free NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Montreal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Montreal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets

Monday, January 25th The Montreal Canadiens have fallen off the face of the earth without Carey Price. The best team in hockey seemed to have deep defense and sufficient scoring to make a run at another Stanley Cup, but the Habs have stumbled for a while now. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recovered a bit from their horrific start. They look a little more competitive these days. Hosting the better team in a big slump, who will win this one? 

Only three people got it right last week so  ... 

NHL Picks: Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals

NHL Picks: Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals

I like the Vancouver Canucks. Their loss in the Stanley Cup, the riots that followed, and the collapse of Roberto Luongo basically launched me into professional journalism as page views and comments crashed the site I was freelancing with at the time. I’m a big Ryan Kesler guy as a US hockey guy, so I enjoyed following his career before he left. I follow them closely, we’ve won good money on them, and they came through with an epic loss for me. I’m also a New Jersey Devils fan, and I’m thankful for  ... 

Free NHL Picks Contest: New York Rangers at New York Islanders ($100)

NHL Picks Contest: New York Rangers at New York Islanders I wanted to bring your attention to our NHL Picks Contest game between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders featuring a $100 prize for the winner. As a fan of the East and a big fan of these epic rivalries between neighboring cities, I am hoping we can get a little more participation. I thought I’d feature the contest game a little bit early today since I don’t have any forum plays here and we’ll probably start focusing on the NFL playoffs tomorrow.

The New York Rangers have  ... 

NHL Picks: Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks

NHL Picks: Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks The Nashville Predators have been really slumping lately. They are a great team on paper, but they’re stumbling badly of late and slipping in the playoff standings, tied for 5th in the Central.

Betting against the Nashville Predators is always difficult for me. As a New Jersey Devils fan, the defense-first approach is one I’ve grown up with and love. It’s hard for me to watch this mediocre offense stumble so badly that it hurts the consistency of the defense. Right now, the Preds are a huge liability despite their decent record on  ... 

Free NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Rangers Islanders

NHL Picks Contest: New York Rangers at New York Islanders

Thursday, January 14th The New York Rangers got off to an incredibly hot start this season, but certain metrics and bad possession time predicted their demise. For the most part, those predictions have come true and it’s been a rough month for the Rags. The New York Islanders have been pretty consistent this year and with their top goalie back they seem poised for another playoff berth. In this battle for New York hockey supremacy, who will win?

Our leader gave us a holiday gift by skipping the last round  ... 

NHL Picks: New Year’s Eve – Islanders, Caps, Ducks, Red Wings, Blackhawks

NHL Picks: New Year’s Eve Hockey Predictions

Islanders, Red Wings, Capitals, Blackhawks, Ducks Happy New Year to everyone. In what I hope will be a nice way to end the year, I am posting all five of our forum selections for today. I am on the New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and Anaheim Ducks.

I like the Islanders to take out the Buffalo Sabres because they have been handling business against weaker teams. Even on the road, I see a lot of value in this line. The Sabres lack depth and the Islanders have explosive  ... 

Free NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Wild Lightning

NHL Picks Contest ($100 Prize): Minnesota Wild at Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday, January 2nd

Both of these teams confuse me. To be honest, I’m not all that impressed by the Minnesota Wild. I think they spent a lot of money on Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, don’t have reliable goaltending, and lack the kind of depth usually required by a team with this kind of success. The Tampa Bay Lightning have one of the best weapons in hockey and a legitimate goaltender, but haven’t really filled in the pieces to be consistent. In fact, this year, it  ...