With the NHL season now officially past the unofficial quarter pole, teams across the league are already starting to jockey for position and separate pretenders from contenders – which means we are in store for some tantalizing betting situations this fine Saturday.

Aside from the juicy 13-game schedule on tap, there is also no shortage of awesome storylines to follow heading into Saturday’s action that are sure to take the excitement level up a notch or two.

Whether it be the sensational point streaks of Dallas Stars phenom Jason Robertson or Toronto Maple Leafs talisman Mitch Marner, the impressive win streak from the upstart Seattle Kraken, or maybe you're just fired up about the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continuing to do their thing, buckle up, we're in for a wild ride of hockey action.

Good luck and enjoy the games!
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Flip Livingstone's Picks

2022-23 Saturday Record Breakdown (Complete Daily Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks)

Gold: 1-1
Silver: 1-1
Bronze: 2-0
Side bets: 5-1

Total Saturday Record: 9-3-0

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Gold Selection

Alexander Ovechkin Anytime Point (-193)

If you were part of the small minority of hockey heads ready to write off the greatness that is Alex Ovechkin heading into this season, shame on you. Ovi is productive as ever and currently showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon as he continues to ride a hot streak of 11 points (five goals, six assists) over his last seven games.

If the breaking of Wayne Gretzky's all-time road goals record this week wasn't impressive enough for you to start considering Ovechkin once again as a legit way to make some money each week, then his career numbers against the Calgary Flames should pique your interest. In 22 career regular-season games facing the Flames the Great Eight has 15 goals and 16 assists for an impressive 31 points that includes nine power-play tallies.

In addition to Ovi picking up steam and his excellent track record against Calgary, you have to like this situation overall for a Washington Capitals team that has been decent of late and is fresh-off a 3-0 shutout victory over these very same Flames just a week ago – a game in which Ovi was all over the ice while posting a goal and an assist.

A good spot, solid historic trends, and a red-hot superstar have me feeling confident about this Gold Selection. The odds on this aren't exactly great, but let's hammer Ovechkin for another big night against Calgary, collect our loot, and move on.

Silver Selection

Florida Panthers @ Seattle Kraken – Pick: Over 6.5 Total Goals (-105)

If there's one game on this NHL betting board that you're considering a wager on the OVER, this should definitely be it. At first glance this matchup absolutely screams high-scoring and following a quick dig into the numbers and recent trends, let's just say I will be placing a nice-sized bet on this game to go OVER the total in a hurry.

The Seattle Kraken need some serious respect put on their name for how they continue to string wins together and roll a balanced attack of four lines that are all seemingly contributing on a nightly basis. Seattle currently sits tied for fourth in the NHL with 87 goals scored this season, ahead of such offensively-potent groups as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning and even the Florida Panthers, who currently have 82 goals for.

Two teams in the top-10 in scoring who both have documented goaltending issues to start this campaign should have you feeling comfortable here with this angle. But, if not, I have a few more stats to throw at you real quick to seal the deal here on the OVER.

Eight of the Panthers' last nine games have gone OVER the total and six of their last seven on the road have also finished OVER the number. On the Kraken side of things, this group is seemingly involved in a crooked-number result on the regular, including a WILD 9-8 finish only four nights ago against the L.A. Kings. Let's not overthink this one, Panthers-Kraken goes OVER 6.5 total goals, my Silver Selection of the day.

Bronze Selection

San Jose Sharks @ Ottawa Senators – Pick: Senators ML (-139)

The Ottawa Senators have easily been one of the biggest disappointments and negative surprises of the young NHL season. Injuries to key pieces and inconsistent play at both ends of the rink have clearly hampered this young Sens group's ability to put wins together with any regularity. However, in my opinion, Ottawa still owns more than enough elite offensive pieces to make some noise in the Atlantic Division – but they need to get hot and quickly.

A third-period comeback and OT victory against a good-but-struggling New York Rangers squad on Friday night feels like the exact spring-board moment this group is looking for to kick-start some momentum and salvage a season that is quickly turning Sens fans rabid. This team needed a performance like the one it got from their captain in Brady Tkachuk versus the Rangers on Friday and he will need to stay hot if Ottawa wants to do the same. Thankfully for Sens nation, the banged-up San Jose Sharks roll into the nation's capital, a team with only four wins out of their last 10 games overall and one in their last five.

I hit you over the head with the numbers and recent trends for my Silver bet just above, so I want to keep things real simple here with my Bronze Selection. Senators on the moneyline in a good home spot against a Sharks team racking up losses of late.

Side Bets

Chicago Blackhawks @ New York Rangers – Pick: Blackhawks PL +1.5 (-115)

Colorado Avalanche @ Boston Bruins – Pick: UNDER 6 (+105)

Carolina Hurricanes @ L.A. Kings – Pick: Hurricanes ML (-126)

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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Brad Hayward's Picks

This is my first attempt to branch into game bets – and geez, pretty intimidating that I'm going H2H against "veteran" Flip Livingstone. Hopefully more than hunches, I'll try to back up picks with data.  

Gold Selection

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Pick: Nikita Kucherov scores a power-play point

Too easy to pick Kucherov to score on the advantage against the Maple Leafs.   He's had one PPP in 6 of the Bolts' past 9 games (3PPG, 7PPA).  Mikhail Sergachev has solidified his position on Tampa's first unit, with 7 PPP during those games.  BUT in theirpast six games, only Kirill Kaprizov (once) has beaten Toronto's penalty kill, so there's that. Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jordie Benn, Jake Muzzin are all still out though.  

Silver Selection

Carolina Hurricanes @ Los Angeles Kings – Pick: OVER 6.0 goals scored. (-105)

Yeah… the team that lost to the Kraken 9-8, then held the Coyotes to just three goals, these guys are going to play shut down defense against Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Kyrou, and Brett Burns?  Nope.  But on the other side, the Kings do score.  Since October 22, they've averaged 3.8 goals at 11 home games, and over that same time span – 20 games – the 'Canes have held their opponent to fewer than two goals ONCE, a shutout over Chicago.  Easy money. 

Bronze Selection

This is where I'd sometimes jump off the wagon and take a flyer.  No, no not the Philly ones, playing as they've been this season, so…

New Jersey Devils @ Philadelphia Flyers – Pick: Devils -1.5 goals (-115)

It's been a brutal season for Torts and crew, and it doesn't get easier today.  The boo-birds will be in full force.  I simply cannot get my mind to think the Flyers will put a 2-1 week together against three playoff teams (NYI, TBL, NJD).   And it won't get better soon, the Avalanche will roll into town Monday.

So there's my opening entry into this new (for me) arena.  Thoughts/comments, @dokhockey