Nick Parsons

Today’s Free Picks

The PLAY: Edmonton Oilers -140

This is a FREE PLAY on the Edmonton Oilers.

I think the Oilers are well worth the price of admission on Tuesday night.

Dallas is 13-5-4 overall, including 7-1-3 on the road, while Edmonton is 10-9-5 overall, and 5-1-2 at home.

This is the third game of a four-game road trip for Dallas, winning 4-2 at Vancouver, and then falling 3-2 in a shootout at Calgary most recently.

With a game at Seattle on Wednesday, there's a very real chance that Dallas could be caught looking ahead here.

Edmonton is finally returning home after a difficult seven-game road trip in which it went 3-4.

But the Oilers were firing on all cylinders in their rematch against the Panthers in their final game, winning 6-3, and now I think that Connor McDavid and company will carry that momentum over here.

The Oilers play with the added incentive of "revenge" here as well after losing 4-3 in a shootout at Dallas back on November 4th.

Situationally, as I say, this one definitely sets up well for the home side in my opinion.

Edmonton has the early advantage offensively this year, ranked fourth in the league, while Dallas has the advantage on the defensive end, ranked eighth.

Admittedly, Dallas has been highly successful as the visitor this year, but Edmonton comes in with revenge on its mind, and needing to still make up a lot of ground again here at the start of the season after a shaky start.

So I say all of those factors combine to tip the scales in favor of the Oilers here overwhelmingly and that makes this a price worth paying in what should be a comfortable win.

Consider the OILERS on Tuesday night.

Good luck, NP

The PLAY: New Jersey Devils -145

This is a FREE PLAY on the New Jersey Devils.

These teams are evenly matched, but the home side comes in as the more motivated club and I expect it to find a way to get the job done at the end of the night.

The Wings are 13-8 overall, and 3-1 in their last four after a tough OT home win over Columbus. But after three straight home contests, I think Detroit will have difficulty maintaining its motivation here in this particular contest.

The Devils are 13-7 overall, but they return home after going 2-3 on their road trip, including losing the final three. Because of the way that road trip ended with three straight losses, it's safe to say that the Devils won't be "looking past" their dangerous opponent on Monday night.

Overall the Wings are averaging 2.9 goals per game, which ranks 25th, while conceding 3.2, which ranks 23rd.

The Devils, on the other hand, are averaging 3.0 goals per game, which ranks 18th, while allowing 3.0 goals per game as well, which is also ranked 18th.

Cam Talbot is 9-2 with a 2.66 goals against for Detroit, while Jakob Markstrom 5-3-1 with a 3.83 GAA for the Devils.

Talbot has the better stats to this point, but I believe these goaltenders are essentially a "wash," especially with Markstrom getting the advantage of playing at home.

Detroit has exceeded expectations to this point, but regression does feel imminent at some point to me. While the Wings enter with a pedestrian 5-4 road record, the Devils enter with a perfect 7-0-1 record at home.

IF New Jersey lost its first two games of that road trip, and then won the final three, I'd almost assuredly be going against the Devils in this spot.

But after the three straight losses, I expect the focused and determined home side to risk life and limb today to find a way to get the job done.

Considering the overwhelming situational circumstances working in favor of the Devils in this spot in my opinion, I believe this is a very fair price to pay on the home side in this matchup.

Consider NEW JERSEY on Monday.

Good luck, NP