We are back with another Tuesday edition of Game Picks, where we give out a Gold, Silver, and Bronze bet selection every Tuesday during the NHL season. Tonight, there are 12 games on the NHL schedule, which gives me an excellent opportunity to redeem myself after going winless last Tuesday. It's still early in the season and I'm still getting into game shape. But now that I've gotten that one bad day out of my system, it's back to picking winners. Tonight, I'll start my evening by focusing on the Vegas Golden Knights @ Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators @ Tampa Bay Lightning games; I think we can find some winners in those games. A little later in the evening, I will be tuning into the Seattle Kraken @ Calgary Flames game to see if the Flames can get us a win.

Below I highlight my Gold, Silver, and Bronze selections for tonight's games. Last Tuesday was a horrible day that saw us go (0-3), bringing our season record to (4-5).

Gold Selection

Seattle Kraken @ Calgary Flames – Pick: Calgary Flames in Regulation (-137)

The Flames are a really good hockey team and they have proven that with their fantastic start. The Flames currently have a record of 5-2, and one of their two losses was a one-goal game to the Edmonton Oilers in the Battle of Alberta, which is nothing to be embarrassed about. The Flames currently have the fourth-best points percentage in the NHL at .714%. The Flames are also in the top 10 for almost every stat you look at. They are tenth in goals per game at 3.43, third for shots per game at 37.4, they have the seventh-best power play at 26.9%, seventh-best penalty kill at 83.3%, and they allow the fourth-fewest shots against at 27.6 per game. The Flames are good everywhere and don't have any glaring weaknesses.

The Kraken are still playing okay, they have a record of (4-4-2), which is probably how most people expect them to perform. They still aren't getting the goaltending they need, as proven by the fact that they allow the ninth most goals against per game at 3.4 while allowing only 26.1 shots against per game. Someone in the Kraken organization is going to need to learn to stop the puck if they want to contend for a playoff spot. Another area they need to figure out is their penalty kill, which is in the bottom three of the league at 66.7%. With how bad the Kraken are at killing penalties, and how good the Flames are on the power play, they better hope they can stay out of the box tonight.

The Kraken and Flames played each other four times last season, the Flames won all four in regulation, I expect them to keep that streak alive at home tonight.

Silver Selection

Ottawa Senators @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Pick: Steven Stamkos Over 3.5 Shots (+100)

This is a very simple pick to me, Stamkos loves to shoot the puck, and the Ottawa Senators give up a lot of shots. In his first nine games this season, Stamkos has recorded 38 shots, averaging 4.22 shots per game. He also leads the Lightning in shot attempts averaging 7.66 per game, which shows me he isn't shy about throwing the puck at the net when he has the chance. What should help Stamkos tonight is the number of shots the Senators allow. The Senators currently average 34.6 shots against per game, the seventh most in the NHL. Also, the Senators average 6:20 minutes per game on the penalty kill, which is the ninth most in the league. We all know how much Stamkos loves the power play, and I expect him to use his time on the powerplay tonight to unleash his deadly one-timer every chance he gets.

Bronze Selection

Vegas Golden Knights @ Washington Capitals – Pick: Golden Knights Money Line (-147)

The Golden Knights have come flying out of the gates like a team possessed. They took a lot of heat this past offseason after missing the playoffs last year, and they seem determined to prove everyone wrong. They have started the season with an (8-2) record, good enough for a share atop the NHL standings with the Boston Bruins. A big reason for their early success has been the emergence of rookie goalie Logan Thompson. He currently has a save percentage of .943%, and a goals-against average of 1.69, both top five in the league. Also, the Golden Knights take very few penalties, averaging only 3:38 minutes shorthanded per game, the fewest in the NHL. Alexander Ovechkin thrives on the power play, so if the Golden Knights stay out of the box like they have been, they have a better chance at keeping him in check.

The Washington Capitals have gotten off to an okay start at (5-4-1). That's probably below their standards but based on their aging team, it looks about right. I think they are in a tough spot for tonight's game against the Golden Knights. This will be their second game in as many nights as they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes on the road last night. Also, the injury situation for the Capitals is dreadful right now. Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and Carl Hagelin have all yet to play this season. Connor Brown just had ACL surgery and will most likely miss the rest of the season. T.J. Oshie was hurt on Saturday when playing against the Nashville Predators and will now be out indefinitely. John Carlson was also injured on Saturday which forced him to miss last night’s game, he's still considered day-to-day which means he might miss tonight's game as well.

With how good Vegas has looked and with the Capitals playing in their second of a back-to-back, and with all the injuries they have, I expect the Golden Knights to cruise to victory tonight.