Welcome back inside the betting lab, my fellow degenerates! The 2025-26 NHL campaign is in full swing and despite some seriously head-scratching scheduling decisions that served up a total of ZERO games Friday night, we're ready to dive into the first iteration of our Saturday picks. Last year we finished with a total record just above .500 with obvious room for improvement. Let's get that popping this fine Saturday with a big start to the year.

All 32 NHL franchises take the ice today across 16 games, including a juicy early tilt between the L.A. Kings and Winnipeg Jets. Tap into our top-three picks and favourite side bets below. Good luck this week. Let's get this paper.

Final 2024-25 Saturday Record (Daily Record Tracked/Posted @Flips_Picks):
Gold: 9-12
Silver: 11-10
Bronze: 9-12
Side Bets (Located at Bottom of Article): 36-25
2024-25 Combined Saturday Record: 65-59

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Gold Selection
New Jersey Devils @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Pick: Lightning ML (-146)

Handicapping the beginning of any season in any sport can be a precarious situation, which is why we're starting this year off with a few "safer" plays. Now that we've officially cooked our own goose with a proper jinx in the first sentence of our initial pick, let's get into why we absolutely love the Bolts here at home against a New Jersey club that got absolutely pumped in its opening game to the tune of a six-piece against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sure, it's one game, but the same issues that plagued the Devils last season were on full display once again against the Canes: bad giveaways, too many penalties, and inconsistent goaltending. The Canes are definitely one of the top teams in the East, but so are the juggernaut-like Lightning, as Jon Cooper's men finished last season with the fifth-best power-play (25.9%) and sixth-best penalty kill (81.6%) while scoring the most goals in the league and rocking the top goal differential in the conference (+75).

Tampa has also built an ironclad reputation as one of the best teams on home ice, turning Amalie Arena into a fortress of winning, something they did last season to the tune of a 29-8-4 record, the second-best in the Eastern Conference. Aside from all of those angles we're feeling, the Bolts have straight up owned the Devils recently, repping an 8-1-1 record over their last 10 meetings. Like we mentioned off the top, this is a portion of the schedule to scale back your wagers and really pick your spots. This being one of them, with Tampa on the moneyline against a Jersey side they match up well against and have dominated of late. Enough said for our gold pick of the day.

Silver Selection
Philadelphia Flyers @ Carolina Hurricanes – Pick: Hurricanes ML (-280)

We have a feeling it's going to be a VERY long season for the Philadelphia Flyers. A bit of a top-heavy team with weak goaltending and one lacking in a legit No. 1 rearguard means we will be fading the Flyers with regularity. Case in point: this spot against the revamped and retooled Hurricanes who looked dynamic in their season-opening slap-around of the aforementioned Devils.

All you need to hear about this matchup and a reason to back the Canes other than what we laid down just above is that Carolina is Philly's daddy over their previous 10 tilts, flexing an overall record of 9-1-0. Riding a five-game win streak against the Flyers that dates back to the start of the 2023-24 season, the Hurricanes have completely suffocated Philly, outscoring them 22-7 over that span. Since we're on the subject, No. 1 netminder Frederik Andersen flaunts solid career numbers against the Flyers with a 13-4-3 record and .911 save percentage across 20 regular-season games. That's more than enough here to feel comfortable with the Canes at home to get the job done.

The odds here won't be pretty, but you can take this one to the bank: Hurricanes take care of business against the Flyers on the moneyline.

Bronze Selection
Dallas Stars @ Colorado Avalanche – Pick: Over 6.5 (+106)

If you've been following along here with our picks for the past six seasons, you are already likely quite aware that we prefer to mix things up in terms of different types of bets each week. Shot totals, anytime goals, pucklines, and of course, over-unders. Usually once a week a number jumps off the page as one we very much want to wager on or at least include into a juicier parlay. The Dallas Stars visiting the Colorado Avalanche tonight is that page-jumper as the game we like the most to be high-scoring and finish over the number.

First and foremost, both of these lineups are easily two of the most balanced and offensively potent in the entire NHL and the numbers from last season back that up, as the Stars finished tied for third in goals scored and the Avs two goals back in the fifth slot. Expect the goal horn early and often in this one, which is something that's been a common trait when these two Central Division foes go toe-to-toe with seven of their last 10 meetings going over the number. In fact, the most recent three games between Dallas and Colorado have produced a crooked 25 goals combined.

Don't be shy about taking this number at 6.5, but if you want to play it even safer, drop it down to 5.5 and slap this into your favourite parlay of the night and thank us later. This one goes over the total in a hurry, which is good for our silver Saturday selection.

Side Bets

Ottawa Senators @ Florida Panthers – Pick: Senators ML (+126)
New Jersey Devils @ Tampa Bay Lightning – Pick: Nikita Kucherov Anytime Assist
Utah Mammoth @ Nashville Predators – Pick: Over 5.5 (-138)

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.