Friday Night NHL Picks

While football, UFC 105, and the Pacquiao-Cotto fight are getting a lot of attention this weekend, don’t forget that there’s plenty of NHL hockey action for bettors to sink their teeth into as the season continues to heat up.

Friday night features six intriguing games to take a look at on the BetUs.com Sportsbook:

Anaheim Ducks at Columbus Blue Jackets: The Jackets are a 1 ½ goal favorite at home tonight but are coming off of a stunning 9-1 blowout loss to the Red Wings. Prior to that they were playing well, however, and on a five-game point streak.

The humiliation of the loss to Detroit will allow this up-and-coming team to bounce back strong to beat Anaheim by 2-3 goals tonight.

The pick: Columbus

Maple Leafs at Blackhawks: The young, talented ‘Hawks have been dominant at the United Center all year while the Maple Leafs are stumbling through another disappointing season. It seems as if the money is going towards the Blackhawks on this one and with the line at just -1 ½ for a vastly superior team at home, the Blackhawks are a good bet to win this one by a solid margin and cover the spread.

The pick: Chicago

Calgary Flames at Buffalo Sabres: Calgary has lost six straight to Buffalo on the road. While Jerome Iginla has been on fire lately, the Flames haven’t been scoring much overall. Still, their defense can help them cover the +1 ½ spread this time around in Buffalo if not win outright.

The pick: Calgary

Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals: Minnesota is on a hot streak, going 4-1-1 in its last six, and no Alexander Ovechkin could make it hard to cover the -1 ½ goal spread for the Capitals.

The pick: Minnesota

New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes have struggled mightily on the year although they’ve been slightly better at home. The underdog (+1 ½) Islanders should be able to win despite their 6-6-6 record playing on Friday the 13 th because they’re simply the better team.

The pick: New York Islanders

LA Kings at Atlanta Thrashers: Illya Kovalchuk’s return for the Thrashers will help them defend the home ice in this one as they should be able to cover the 1 1/2-goal spread on the strength of their revitalized offense.

The pick: Atlanta