While things have been less than festive for my picks lately, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone south of the border. I hope everyone has a great holiday season full of health and winning wagers.

As hinted at, last week's 2-4 showing and a recent semi-cold streak have me feeling a bit discouraged on the picks front. But as I say basically every single week, lots of opportunity to turn it around and bang out a couple bucks with so much of the season left to unfold.

With an absolutely packed Black Friday schedule yesterday, Saturday's board looks a little bit leaner than we're used to for our favorite day of the week in the world of professional hockey. However, nine games today should still be more than enough to work with to put together a Gold-Silver-Bronze lineup for you to enjoy.

This is a crucial stretch in the NHL schedule, one in which legitimate Cup contenders start to separate themselves from the rest of the pretending pack. That can sometimes translate into plenty of close one-goal games, so keep that in mind when dealing with puckline bets.

We're due for a big day of winners, let's get to it.

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2021-22 Saturday Record Breakdown (Complete Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks)

Gold: 4-2
Silver: 1-5
Bronze: 4-2

Side bets: 11-7

Total Saturday Record: 20-16

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Gold Pick
Buffalo Sabres @ Detroit Red Wings (Over/Under 6) – Pick: Over

It seems like everytime I look at a boxscore for either of these teams, the total score is something crooked. With a closer examination, it makes sense. Google "teams that can't play a lick of defense" and these two squads should blast out of your smart speaker or phone with gusto.

Detroit sits tied for the third-most goals allowed this year with 69 tallies against and Buffalo sits alone in fourth with 67. Of course, both clubs are young and in full-blown rebuilds, but that doesn't change the fact that quality defensive efforts are not something you can expect with either of these up-and-coming-type groups.

The total has gone Over the number in five of Detroit's last seven contests against the Sabres overall, including their most recent matchup, which saw seven regulation goals. I think that trend continues in a very big way tonight in Detroit with the Red Wings poised to put one of those crooked numbers on the board. Remember, this is a Sabres squad that played just last night and will likely have perennial third-string goalie in Aaron Dell between the pipes against Detroit (confirm with Goalie Post for the latest updates).

Dell's numbers this year? 0-4-0 record, 4.56 goals-against average, and a .862 save percentage. Do yourself a favor. Get a bet in on this before you find the total creeping north to 6.5. Thank me later.

Silver Pick
Dallas Stars @ Arizona Coyotes – Pick: Stars (-1.5)

I got burned last week when I started pumping the Maple Leafs' tires (even though they have gone on to win three straight in convincing fashion on the road), so I don't want to get too far ahead of myself when it comes to gassing up another franchise. However, with that said, the Stars are finally starting to look like the team that had been in the mix as one of the most complete squads in the league over the past few seasons.

One of the key reasons for this resurgence has been second-year netminder Jake Oettinger. The 2017 first-round pick has been sensational while getting further opportunities to prove himself in the wake of Ben Bishop's continued absence from the Stars' crease.

The 22-year-old American has been lights out over Dallas' recent 6-3-1 hot streak, posting a 4-0-0 record, 1.26 GAA, and .959 save percentage in four starts. Another reason I'm singing this kid's praises, as well as the Stars', is two of those victories were against the league's top offenses in Edmonton and Colorado, two wins in which Oettnger only allowed a goal apiece.

Editor’s note: Braden Holtby has been confirmed as the starting goalie for this game, as per Goalie Post.

Dallas feels like they've turned a page, and while playing against a complete mess of a team like Arizona obviously helps tonight's cause, the Stars have been solid lately at both ends of the ice. So much so that I feel confident in laying a wager on them on puckline to win by at least two goals for my Silver Pick of the week. 

Bronze Pick
Winnipeg Jets @ Calgary Flames (Over/Under 5.5) – Pick: Under

If you have been following along with my daily picks @Flips_Picks, you would likely have noticed I bet the Under for the Jets game not even one night ago. The result of that one saw eight total goals put in the net. But Winnipeg was only responsible for one of those, so hang with me on this Under bet for a second. First off, no one allows fewer goals against than Calgary. On the back of a Vezina-caliber early-season performance from Jacob Markstrom, the Flames have allowed a league-low 38 goals across 20 games. Markstrom and the Calgary D have been forces to be reckoned with, which is bad news for a Winnipeg group struggling to score. 

Last week I was way off on my Under pick, but I cannot help but like this spot for a low-scoring game. The Jets need to be so much better at both ends of the rink tonight, but especially defensively after getting the pants beaten off them by Minnesota last night to the tune of a 7-1 embarrassment. They should come out a much more defensively-minded group looking to bounce back in a big way.

The total has gone Under the number in eight of Winnipeg's last 10 overall, and five of its last seven in Calgary have also finished Under. Let's roll the dice again tonight on a game that is shaping up nicely as a low-scoring showdown – my Bronze Pick of the week.

Side Bets

Edmonton Oilers @ Vegas Golden Knights – Pick: Knights

Nashville Predators @ Colorado Avalanche – Pick: Predators (+1.5)

Buffalo Sabres @ Detroit Red Wings – Pick: Red Wings

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