If you've been following along each Saturday here at Dobber Hockey, you would have noticed our combination of Flip and Vlad has been on a pretty solid roll of feeding you winners on the NHL's biggest day of the week. While Vlad had a bit of a rough week last time around, Flip is still red-hot with his selections, going a perfect 11-0 over the past two Saturdays.

Playoff hockey is just around the corner and the anticipation and excitement over some of the potential first-round matchups is real. This is a great time for sports fans and gambling degenerates in general, from The Masters to Opening Weekend in the MLB to tightening races in the NHL, so let's sit back and enjoy the action.

A 12-game board awaits us on the ice today, including two matinee games. Does Flip stay hot with a third perfect Saturday in a row? Will Vlad bounce back? Let's find out! 

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FLIP’S PICKS

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

Gold: 10-5
Silver: 6-9
Bronze: 10-5
Side bets: 23-19

Total Saturday Record: 49-38-0

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Gold Pick
Elias Lindholm (Anytime Goalscorer) +125

When it comes to writing this article every week, I rarely think to mention a general manager's impact or even fathom to give that person credit, but Calgary GM Brad Treliving deserves some serious credit for putting this Flames roster together. The Flames head into Seattle tonight as the top team in the Pacific Division, six points up on the second-place Edmonton Oilers and poised for a deep Cup run.

Aside from the balanced roster top-to-bottom thanks to Treliving's handiwork, this Flames group has been carried all year long by one of the best lines in the business right now. Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, and Elias Lindholm deserve some respect this season as all three are setting career highs in points, making this top line one of the deadliest offensive units in the game.

While Gaudreau and Tkachuk get a lot of the main media attention, I want to once again show some love for a guy in Lindholm who doesn't get enough respect considering how good he's been, posting 38 goals and 35 assists this season. This man is closing in on the 40-goal mark, so throw some respect on his name and a bit of cash while you're at it.

Lindholm has been red-hot of late and so has the entire Flames top line, as his six goals and two assists for his last eight games would indicate. Add that into a matchup against the defensively-challenged Seattle Kraken and this is another awesome spot for Lindholm to crack the 40-piece plateau.

Flames keep rolling and so does that deadly top line. Elias Lindholm (Anytime Goalscorer) for my Gold selection of the day.

Silver Pick
San Jose Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks – Pick: Canucks (ML) -150

I am keeping this one super simple: Canucks have something to play for and the Sharks don't. Need to hear more? I figured you might, so I did a bit of research to back me up here just in case you were a bit rattled that I wasn't providing a solid explanation. Not only is San Jose a poor road team (13-16-4 record this year away from the Tank) their squad has really struggled against the Canucks over recent meetings.

The Sharks are 1-6 in their last seven games against Vancouver overall and are also in the midst of a nasty five-game losing skid with injuries and inconsistencies in the blue paint continuing to plague San Jose. The recently acquired Kaapo Kahkonen has failed to get the job done in relief of James Reimer since being brought over at the deadline from Minnesota, failing to register a win in four games while sporting a bootleg .870 save percentage.

This just feels like a really good spot for a Canucks crew that has points in seven of their last 10 while closing the gap on the final wild-card spot to only six points, a spot currently occupied by the Dallas Stars. Canucks continue to close in with a big home win against the Sharks for my Silver Pick.

Bronze Pick
Auston Matthews (Anytime Goalscorer) -200

League-leader in goals. All-time single-season franchise record. Career-highs. The solo accolades are surely to follow what has already been a historic season for Auston Matthews, one in which he has a good shot at winning the Hart Trophy, the Rocket Richard, as well as the Selke. Unfortunately, we all know the trophy that matters, and that one is going to take a lot more than just Matthews, but until then, we can continue to marvel in this goalscoring masterclass.

The past 15 games have been a highlight reel for No. 34, as Matthews' 15-game point streak features a ridiculous 19 goals and 10 assists. The Montreal Canadiens are ripe for the taking here, against a Toronto group playing some of its best hockey of the season.

Matthews has 20 goals in 26 career regular-season games against the Habs and until he shows even a single sign of slowing down right now, I have to continue to back the best shooter in the game. The odds are getting lower on this kind of Matthews bet with each passing game, but given this matchup on the Saturday night stage against their bitter rival, I am more than comfortable still laying a nice-sized wager down.

Side Bets

Anaheim Ducks @ Philadelphia Flyers – Pick: Flyers (ML) -110

New York Islanders @ St. Louis Blues – Pick: Blues (ML) -150

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 @Flips_Picks.

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VLAD’S PICKS

Gold Pick
Arizona Coyotes @ Vegas Golden Knights – Pick: Golden Knights

For a second week in a row, I'll blame myself for taking an obvious pick as my gold pick. That being said, I predicted Montreal to get demolished by at least three goals by Tampa last Saturday and they won that game in a shootout, leaving me looking like an absolute clown. I have to get myself back on track here, so I'm not taking any chances.

Since the Evgenii Dadonov trade deadline embarrassment, Vegas has gone 5-2. In that span, Dadonov himself has put up seven points in six games. Considering he hasn't been on the scoresheet for the last two matchups, I expect to come out big tonight and run over Arizona's joke of a team. Considering the Golden Knights were humiliated by the Canucks three days ago, he's not the only one in that team who should play with anger and determination.

Meanwhile, while Arizona can sometimes come out and surprise people with some astounding seven-point performances by some of their players, they haven't beaten a playoff team since March 10, when they won in overtime against a Maple Leafs team that had virtually no goalies left and were at their lowest point in the season. Vegas may not be in the playoffs as of right now, but they're certainly still fighting tooth and nail to get there.

Silver Pick
Colorado Avalanche @ Edmonton Oilers (Over/under 6.5) – Pick: Over

This is undoubtedly the matchup with the most high-end talent that we could get this year. On one side, there's a fragile Oilers team with their renowned sub-par goaltending, a fragile defense and an overload of scoring machines, while on the other there's a strong Avalanche team ranking a disappointing 18th in shots allowed per game and cruising with a smothering offensive machine of their own.

It's been a high-scoring week for Colorado with 11 goals in the two games they've been a part of. Their offense looks as lethal as it could get and, considering they're playing a second game in as many nights, there should be some fatigue defensively. Meanwhile, Edmonton should certainly be able to count on McDavid to pursue a 15-game point streak, and can almost as certainly count on Mike Smith to have a difficult game against the best team in the league. Everyone better have their eyes set on this matchup as it will certainly not disappoint.

Bronze Pick
New York Islanders @ St. Louis Blues – Pick: Islanders (+1.5)

The Islanders are the one team this year for whom it's just too little too late. Since the all-star break, they've gone back to their elite defensive performances that we've gotten so used to seeing them put up over the past few years. They've allowed three goals or less in their last six games. Noah Dobson is criminally overlooked when it comes to young defenseman in the league considering he currently stands fifth in points amongst blue-liners below 23 years of age only ranking below Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Mortiz Seider and Rasmus Dahlin, four players usually considered elite. Finally, even more surprisingly, Ilya Sorokin has the second most shutouts this year, quietly carving himself a spot amongst the best netminders in the NHL.

While it may seem unwise to bet against St. Louis, who are currently on a four-game win streak, there is but one reason that pushes me to go that way: Jordan Binnington is set to start in net. Devoted fans of my Saturday Picks may remember me tearing Binnington apart in last week's article as he had four goals on 13 shots against Edmonton the day prior, well, that game remains his last start for St. Louis. It is official, Ville Husso has definitely become the Blues' number one goalie and should be the one getting all the starts come playoff time. Meanwhile, Binnington's confidence is clearly at an all-time low and there is nothing pointing in the right direction for him, leaving me to believe that he won't be able to handle the red-hot Islanders.

Side Bets

Ottawa Senators @ New York Rangers – Pick: Rangers (-1.5)

Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs (Over/Under 6.5) – Pick: Over

Anaheim Ducks @ Philadelphia Flyers – Pick: Flyers