Well, let's just file last week under "N" for never again, as our previous Saturday of picks was by far our worst of the current campaign. However, given our hot start to the season, our overall record on our favourite NHL betting day of the week is still sitting pretty at a respectable 30-18 with plenty of room for improvement – especially given last Saturday's you-know-what show (the word rhymes with hit, if anyone was curious).

With only one game on the NHL schedule last night we're feasting on an absolutely scrumptious board of 15 games that provides no shortage of tantalizing betting options to sink our teeth into. Let's tap in and get this paper. Good luck!

Complete 2024-25 Saturday Record (Daily Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks):

Gold: 4-4
Silver: 7-1
Bronze: 4-4
Side Bets (Located at Bottom of Article): 15-9
2024-25 Combined Saturday Record: 30-18

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Gold Selection
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Seattle Kraken – Pick: Lightning ML (-130)

When it comes to riding a wave of positive betting energy, none come much better than the Lightning rolling into Seattle fresh off a decisive and galvanizing eight-piece against the Calgary Flames earlier this week. Considering the overall quality of the Bolts this season, they've been somewhat unfortunate to be sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division, especially when you consider they currently rock the second-best goal differential in the Eastern Conference at a very respectable plus-26 mark. Here's the main thing when it comes to backing the Bolts in this spot: Seattle is just a very average club and Tampa has owned them through their six all-time meetings to the tune of a 5-0-1 record.

Looking back over the Kraken's previous 10 games reveals a team that seemingly gets its points against low-level squads and gets dealt with by the good ones. That's the angle we're riding with here keeping things very short and sweet this week with our Gold selection. Oh, that and the fact that Nikita Kucherov is absolutely cooking right now with 18 points over his last seven games and the Kraken blueline simply doesn't have an answer for that. Lightning cruise in this one for our favourite pick of the week.

Silver Selection
Boston Bruins @ Vancouver Canucks – Pick: Quinn Hughes Anytime Assist (-162)

Betting on a Quinn Hughes anytime assist has been money for us all season long and we're going back to the well with one of our favourite prop picks for a player who dishes it better than most blueliners this game has ever seen. That might be a bit of a bold take considering he's only in his sixth NHL campaign, but when you take a look at the game-changing impact Hughes has on the game with his elite skating ability and on-ice vision, it's no wonder he sits tied for the league lead in apples by D-men along with Cale Makar with 27 already this season.

Hughes is fresh off a two-assist night in his last time out, and he's got 12 over his previous eight games. The Canucks are taking on an old rival in the Boston Bruins, one who's dropped back-to-back stinkers while getting outscored 13-2. That should have the perennial Norris Trophy-threat fired up for another big game of setting his teammates up for elite scoring chances. Don't be surprised if Hughes finds the scoresheet more than once, so another angle here would be two-plus points or even two-plus assists if anyone out there is feeling a little extra spicy. Regardless, Hughes anytime assist makes our Silver pick of the evening.

Bronze Selection
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Detroit Red Wings – Pick: Maple Leafs ML (-184)

This matchup is the classic case of two teams heading in completely different directions. If not for the complete botch job on the part of the Buffalo Sabres a few nights ago where the coldest team in the league blew yet another lead in ugly fashion, the Wings would be winless since November. Injuries, sloppy play at both ends of the rink, and an inability to generate quality scoring chances have seen Detroit plummet in the Atlantic Division standings to sit only one point adrift of the absolutely terrible Montreal Canadiens in last place. With the Wings barely able to net more goals than the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and Anaheim Ducks, the three lowest-scoring teams in the league, this is a club ripe for the taking from a betting perspective and one that now has to contend with a suddenly defensively stingy Toronto Maple Leafs side.

Aside from the recent sensational play from one of the best goalie tandems in the league right now in Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll, the Leafs have been rolling three effective forward lines while being anchored by strong defensive-first play by their group of rearguards, especially Chris Tanev who leads the NHL in blocked shots with an impressive 86 already through 29 games played. What we're trying to get at here is this should be a spot where the Leafs clamp down on Detroit’s meager offensive attack while letting their big four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and the rejuvenated John Tavares continue do their thing – something the quartet has been doing all season long while combining for a staggering 111 points.

Maple Leafs take this one in a 3-1, 4-2-type fashion and cruise for our Bronze play of the night.

Side Bets
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Detroit Red Wings – Pick: Mitch Marner Two-Plus Points (+172)
Nashville Predators @ Colorado Avalanche – Pick: Avalanche ML (-184)
Utah Hockey Club @ San Jose Sharks – Pick: Over 6.5 (+112)

Flip Livingstone is an NHL betting and NHL fantasy writer and daily podcast host with experience at outlets such as theScore NHL, Narcity Media, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him @Flips_Picks.