All things considered, I'll take an even start to kickoff the season, as last week my inaugural batch of picks went 3-3. Aside from the Flyers not even getting off the bus to face the Bruins (my bad on that one, by the way, that was a wack pick), I'm feeling good about starting this unpredictable NHL campaign off with a decent showing.

Onto this week and a super Saturday stacked with 12 games, including one afternoon tilt between the Devils and Sabres – lots of opportunity to hit a few winners and make some cash. I wanted to point out that the injury bug is already biting a number of teams across the league, so be sure to dig in on your research and stay aware of any last-minute lineup changes that could affect lines.

Good luck and enjoy what's sure to be another busy night in the NHL.

2021 record:

Gold: 0-1
Silver: 1-0
Bronze: 1-0

Side bets: 1-2

2019-2020 overall record: 63-59-1

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Gold Pick

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers – Pick: Maple Leafs

The Leafs head into Edmonton tonight to cap their four-game Western road swing that's seen the club take six points and the North Division lead. Toronto is flashing glimpses of being a dominant team at times, but the Buds have also yet to play a complete 60 minutes and are prone to taking the foot off the gas instead of delivering the knockout blow.

On the other hand, the Oilers continue to be a disappointment, which honestly stems from last year's performance in the bubble that is safe to say cost a lot of people around here some serious bank. Edmonton's weak roster and lack of depth on the backend has been exacerbated by key injuries to top-pairing D-man Oscar Klefbom and veteran netminder Mike Smith, seeing the Oil sit 29th in goals-against at 33 in only nine games.

In terms of recent meetings, Toronto owns Edmonton with an 8-2 record over the last 10 meetings including five straight at Rogers Place. The Oilers deserve some props for holding the high-flying Leafs to only one goal during their first matchup of the year, but I think Auston Matthews and Co. get rolling early in this one and cruise to another win in Edmonton's barn. Throw a bet down on Toronto on the money line, my Gold Pick of the week.

Silver Pick

Vancouver Canucks @ Winnipeg Jets (Over/Under 6.5) – Pick: Over

Have you ever had this happen before: you take a quick gander at the NHL betting board and you see one game or line or total just jump off the page? For me this week it was the juicy matchup between two Canadian clubs that have been scoring in bunches over the last few games. Winnipeg takes on Vancouver in tonight's late affair that features the top-scoring Canucks (35 goals-for paces the NHL) and a Jets team that currently sits tied for fourth in total goals scored.

Winnipeg and Vancouver have also combined to score a crooked 31 goals over their last three games – I think you can see where I'm going with this pretty quickly. In addition, one more thing to note here before we hammer this Over is the Canucks own the somewhat dubious distinction of leading the NHL in both goals scored and allowed, as its tandem of Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko have both been shaky at times. These trends continue tonight.

The number in this game could easily be higher, but if it's still sitting at 6.5 at puck drop don't hesitate to pull the trigger. Canucks-Jets will feature goals from start to finish, take the Over 6.5 for my Silver Pick.

Bronze Pick

Florida Panthers @ Detroit Red Wings – Pick: Panthers

Aside from the hiccup of the COVID interruption limiting the Panthers to play only four games so far, Florida has been solid to start their season with three wins and a tight one-goal loss to the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets their last time out. Obviously, without getting too deep into it, on the other side of this we have the lackluster Red Wings (2-5-1) whose roster these days is looking more like their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.

Florida has straight-up dominated Detroit over recent meetings, holding a sparkling 8-1-1 record over its last 10 against the Wings, which includes six in a row overall and and six of seven at Little Caesars Arena. It should also be noted that Detroit is dealing with a number of players in COVID protocol, including forwards Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina.

The recent matchups, the current roster makeups, and the short-handed Detroit lineup has me feeling that the Panthers continue to have their way with the Red Wings and get an easy two points in Detroit tonight, good for my Bronze Pick of the week.

Side Bets

New York Islanders @ Philadelphia Flyers – Pick: Flyers

Calgary Flames @ Montreal Canadiens (Over/Under 6) – Pick: Over

Colorado Avalanche @ Minnesota Wild – Pick: Avalanche

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Flip Livingstone is a former NHL writer for theScore with past experience at such outlets as Narcity Media, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @FlipLivingstone and @Flips_Picks.