The surging Colorado Avalanche ride an eight-game winning streak as they host the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

loanDepot park, home of MLB 's Miami Marlins, is the site of the Winter Classic. The venue will have a capacity of 35,300 for the game, according to the NHL. The outdoor game is set for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT. The Winter Classic will air on TNT and truTV.

Makar has the most assists (30), points (40 in 34 games) and even-strength points (29) among defensemen this season. Hughes, who has two points (one goal, one assist) in three games since the trade, is tied among defensemen in power-play points (13) and leads the entire NHL in average ice time (27:39 per game) this season.

Our New Year's Eve NHL player props feature plenty of star power, and chief among them is the red-hot Connor McDavid, who is sitting at plus-money to score another goal.

PPG Paints Arena is where the Pittsburgh Penguins (16-12-9) will meet the Detroit Red Wings (23-14-3) on Thursday. The moneyline on this contest has the Red Wings at -144 and the Penguins are at +120. The betting total is set at 6.

Olympic ice hockey is played on a rink roughly 200 feet long by 98 feet wide. That's a just about ten more feet laterally on the ice than in the 85 feet wide rinks used in the NHL. Although ten feet may sound minor, it ends up making a difference when you ...

My Bruins vs. Oilers predictions and NHL picks expect a convincing win from Edmonton with superstar Connor McDavid taking center stage tonight. The Edmonton Oilers are trending in the right direction with an active 9-3-1 stretch that has positioned them atop the Pacific Division, and they’re also up to 10-3-3 on home ice for the campaign.

Rogers Arena is the location where the Vancouver Canucks (15-19-3) will take on the Seattle Kraken (16-14-6) on Friday. The odds on this game have the Kraken at -145 and the Canucks are coming in at +125. The over/under comes in at 6.5.