Let's hope last week's 5-1 showing is a sign of things to come, shall we? A Gold, Silver, Bronze sweep a week ago has my overall tally sitting at an even .500 for the 2021 campaign with still plenty of time left on the schedule to keep pushing that percentage north and hopefully putting some more green in your account.

If you've been following the league closely, you should have already noticed the shortened season and consistent inter-division play is making for frequent one-goal results and games being decided outside of regulation. Two important trends to keep an eye on, especially if you like betting on pucklines.

Today's board features four afternoon matchups and nine evening games to make some money on, so let's stay hot. Good luck and enjoy.

2021 record:

Gold: 3-3
Silver: 4-2
Bronze: 4-2

Side bets: 7-11

Overall: 18-18

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Gold Pick
New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals – Pick: Capitals

The Washington Capitals have once again very quietly worked their way into the top spot in the NHL heading into Saturday's slate with wins in seven consecutive games. A red-hot Alex Ovechkin, solid goaltending, and strong special teams play has the Caps absolutely rolling through the entire East Division right now. With Ovi's seven goals in seven games as the catalyst, Washington has once again established itself as a legitimate threat to make some noise down the stretch and turn some heads as the playoffs approach.

Two main factors play into me loving this spot for Washington to push its win streak to eight. One, as much as I know Keith Kinkaid has been decent in a few starts this year for New York, he does not have what it takes to get the job done at the NHL level, and frankly, I'm unsure how he still has one. The second one is the Rangers are bad on the road and have played poorly over recent matchups in Washington, posting a 1-7 record over their last eight meetings against the Capitals at Capital One Arena.

Ovi and the Caps are hitting their stride at the perfect moment in the season, a mark of any true contender in this league. I have to ride the hot hand and take Washington for my Gold Pick of the week.

Silver Pick
Calgary Flames @ Toronto Maple Leafs – Pick: Maple Leafs

Don't look now, Toronto, but the formerly unbeatable-looking Leafs are sliding fast. Their once solid lead has quickly evaporated (six losses in seven games will do that) with the Oilers, Jets, Canadiens, and even Flames all within striking distance. There really is no other way to break it down than by saying: Toronto has been bad. Nagging injuries to key players, poor starts, inconsistent play at both ends of the rink – take your pick of reasons, the Leafs need to be a lot better.

I truly believe that begins tonight with a much-needed start from one of the most underrated backups in the league in Jack Campbell. Not only has Campbell been solid in limited action this season by posting a clean 3-0-0 record to go along with a tight 1.33 goals-against average and .951 save percentage, but he also has crispy career numbers against the Flames. In six career starts against Calgary, Campbell owns a .943 save percentage, 1.94 GAA, a shutout and an overall 3-2-0 record.

Calgary has clearly turned things around with Darryl Sutter at the helm and is playing good hockey right now, but this is the perfect spot for a big bounce-back win for Toronto at home with a favourable matchup between the pipes. Don't forget, No. 1 Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom earned the victory in last night's tilt against the Leafs, so backup David Rittich should take the cage tonight.

Toronto turns things around with a big win against Calgary for my Silver Pick.

Bronze Pick
Arizona Coyotes @ Anaheim Ducks (Over/Under 5.5) – Pick: Under

Is there a more boring-looking tilt on the entire schedule than this one? I think the answer is likely no. But at the same time, a game featuring two low-scoring groups that lack much of any offensive spark sounds like a great time to hammer an Under wager. Case in point tonight's 8 p.m. ET matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes that showcases the NHL's third (69 total goals for the Ducks) and fourth lowest-scoring teams (70 total goals for the Coyotes). 

This is one of those games that just jumps off the page as a snoozer, it screams low-scoring. The total has gone Under the number in Arizona's last six games, including a 3-2 loss to this same Ducks club only two nights ago. It should be noted that both of the Coyotes' starting goalies in Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper are out with injury, so third-string option Adin Hill will get the nod in the blue paint for Zona tonight.

However, Hill has posted decent stats in limited career action against the Ducks (.920 save percentage, 2.94 GAA, 2-0-1 record) and I like that trend to continue in favour of the Under play here. If you decide to skip watching your laundry spin and instead watch this rinse cycle of a game, expect it to stay under the number of 5.5, my Bronze Pick of the week.

Side Bets

Columbus Blue Jackets @ Carolina Hurricanes – Pick: Hurricanes

Vancouver Canucks @ Montreal Canadiens (Over/Under 6) – Pick: Over

Winnipeg Jets @ Edmonton Oilers – Pick: Oilers

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.