With the dust still settling on many nations' Olympic roster announcements, there's no shortage of buzz around the international hockey community. However, even though we're just as fired up as the next passionate hockey head for some puck across the pond, it's Saturday in the NHL and that means a loaded slate of games for some hard-earned holiday cash to be sprinkled upon.

This portion of the NHL schedule can be notoriously hard to handicap following the holiday break, but it could be even more treacherous given the pending Olympic hiatus as well. Make sure to keep fingers firmly pressed on the pulse of hockey betting by taking in our top-three breakdowns and side bets below.

With only four games on the docket Friday, we are in store for an absolutely scrumptious offering of 14 tilts on tap today. Good luck, and let's get this 2026 paper.

Editor’s note: This article does not include stats from Friday’s games.

Updated 2025-26 Saturday Record (Daily Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks):

Gold: 3-5
Silver: 5-3
Bronze: 6-2
Side Bets: 9-14

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Gold Selection
Tampa Bay Lightning @ San Jose Sharks – Pick: Lightning ML (-195)

Let's get the obvious out of the way off the jump: we still show a lot of love for what this Sharks group has already been able to accomplish in one half-season of truly exciting hockey. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the best-coached, well-balanced, and accomplished teams in the league today and if not for the absolutely crooked runs that the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres are on, this would easily be the hottest club in the NHL.

Bad news for the Sharks, as victories in six straight games pull Jon Cooper's crew to only one point adrift from tops in the East while also rocking the best goal differential in the conference at an impressive plus-28. The Bolts have been getting wins this season with regularity despite injuries to key pieces on the blue line, extended slow starts from players like Brayden Point, and a power-play that uncharacteristically sits with only a 19-percent proficiency mark heading into Friday's action.

As for the Sharks, a team anchored by its young pieces, wins in three straight games have the needle once again pointed in the right direction in the Bay Area. Even still, we're leaning Tampa here as the side repping an 8-1-1 record over their last 10 trips to the tank and one poised to have a massive second half that also flaunts the most road wins of any Eastern Conference group. Tampa continues its domination of San Jose with a big road W this afternoon, good for our gold pick of the week.

Silver Selection
Minnesota Wild @ L.A. Kings – Pick: Quinn Hughes Anytime Assist  

The biggest trade of recent in-season NHL memory between the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks that shipped Quinn Hughes to Minny and a trio of intriguing young players and a pick to Van City really doesn't need to be analyzed any further – other than noting how dangerous the Wild now look when Hughes is on the ice with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov.

As much as hockey fans, especially those out west, are likely done with the coverage Hughes' trade is receiving, they shouldn't be tired of the value Hughes provides in terms of his offensive prowess translating into great opportunities to wager on his player props. As much as Hughes' one goal and six assists in nine games with the Wild don't exactly jump off the page, the 26-year-old is still contributing, Minnesota has a top-10 power-play, and the team is very much in the mix for the Central Division crown.

In addition, there are two angles really playing into this as a great spot to back the American rearguard: Hughes has gone pointless in back-to-back games, meaning boosted odds; and he owns solid numbers against the L.A. Kings in his career having played them quite a bit during his time in Vancouver to the tune of three goals and 15 assists in 19 career regular season games.

The Wild look to take their win streak against L.A. to three games on another strong performance from the team's aforementioned big three and at least an apple or two from Hughes.

Bronze Selection
Montreal Canadiens @ St. Louis Blues – Pick: Canadiens ML (-137)

Usually we like to lay out situations for wagering that highlight a strong trend one way or another with recent head-to-head matchups indicating an edge for a specific team, total, or player, but with the Blues' and Canadiens' head-to-head meetings split down the middle over the previous 10, we're going with the much hotter hand in the Habs for this pick.

Much like with other young teams built on the talent of their young guns, Montreal has experienced growing pains and inconsistencies at both ends of the ice this season, but right now they're absolutely cooking. A 6-1-3 record over their last 10 have the Canadiens knocking on the doorstep of the Red Wings and Lightning for tops in the Atlantic Division as a club that's got some serious high-end firepower up-and-down the lineup. From Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson on the backend, to Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield up front, and even the emergence of Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler in the cage, there is no shortage of young players to get excited about.

The same really cannot be said for the veteran-ladened Blues, who have only four victories over their last 10 and who sit just four points out of the Western Conference basement. This is a classic case of two teams heading in completely different directions for our bronze selection of the day.

Side Bets
Montreal Canadiens @ St. Louis Blues – Pick: Over 6.5 (-130)
Nashville Predators @ Calgary Flames – Pick: Flames ML (-134)
Winnipeg Jets @ Ottawa Senators – Pick: Over 5.5 (-122)

Flip Livingstone is an NHL betting expert, fantasy writer, and daily podcast host with the Locked On Fantasy Hockey pod. He also has experience at outlets such as theScore NHL, Postmedia, and Hockey Night in Canada. You can follow him @Flips_Picks.