If I had a crystal ball, it still wouldn’t be possible to determine the outcome of some of the NHL games this season.  It’s easy to pick out the patterns that should lead to wins, but teams are showing that they want to break all the rules and come up with their own outcomes.  That could continue tonight as well, as we look at our picks for Nov 14.

Sports Intel Daily Picks Nov 14

The Winnipeg Jets are in Florida to meet up with the Panthers and Patrik Laine has repeatedly shown himself to be a threat to the Florida squad.  In six games, he has seven goals and five assists, even though he’s never scored against Sergei Bobrovsky.  This year, however, he has been in somewhat of a slump and he may not be able to keep up the strength tonight.

Both teams have bragging rights for a feat that isn’t seen too often, although the Panthers are the only team between the two to have done it this season.  The Jets and the Panthers have, in at least one game, overcome a four-score deficit to come back and win.  The Panthers just did it against the Boston Bruins, which shocked everyone – the Panthers included.  Despite the return, the Jets are slightly stronger this season and are the underdog tonight, at +145.  They have a good shot at taking the win and should be able to come out on top, which is why they’re our pick for Nov 14.

The Carolina Hurricanes are off to New York for a game against the Buffalo Sabres.  They are about even in skill over the past ten games or so and the ability of the goaltenders is going to make a huge difference.  The ‘Canes have Petr Mrazek protecting the net with a .907 save percentage, but Carter Hutton has a percentage of .921.  This game is going to depend on their ability.

The Sabres have a couple of issues they have to contend with tonight.  They are 0-4-1 in their last five games and are just coming off a trip to Sweden, where they lost two of two against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  If they have recovered from the trip, they could be on fire, especially against a team that has only barely been squeaking by this season.  However, the odds are against them, especially with Andrei Svechnikov and his strong performance this year, and the Canes should be able to take this one.

In our last pick of the day on Nov 14, the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers are fairly well matched.  The Avalanche are 11-5-2 and the Oilers are 12-6-2 and each counts on support from some major speed.  The Oilers have Connor McDavid, the second-fastest in the league, and Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche is just a little behind in sixth.  Both are almost even in points – McDavid with 18 and MacKinnon with 16 – and have enough experience to be leaders.

Where the two differ is in shots on goal.  In 18 games, MacKinnon has tried for 92 shots, while McDavid only has 65 after 20 games.  However, McDavid makes his count more often.  Add into the mix Leon Draisaitl, the league’s leader with 36 points, and a picture begins to emerge.  With Philipp Grubauer only now returning for the Avs, after missing last week due to an injury, the picture gets a little clearer.  The Oilers are the clear favorite and will show everyone why tonight.

That’s it for our NHL picks for Nov 14, good luck!