Ahead of Saturday's jam-packed NHL slate, theScore's Flip Livingstone predicts the winners for all 12 games.

Saturdays in the NHL. Time to gather 'round the TV, crack a few wobbly pops, and make some hockey picks. Here's a quick look at all 12 games and theScore's pick for each one:

Gold Pick

Chicago Blackhawks (4-2-2) @ Arizona Coyotes (0-6-1)

The Blackhawks look to be recapturing their Cup-winning form to start the year, and that's bad news for the hapless Coyotes. Factor in that Chicago has won four straight in the desert and holds an 8-1-1 record in its last 10 versus Arizona overall, and the Blackhawks are a slam dunk gold pick.

Silver Pick

Buffalo Sabres (1-5-2) @ Boston Bruins (3-3-0)

Two things matter in this matchup: One, the Sabres are a poor road team and have looked awful out of the gate, losing seven of their last eight away from home. Two, they also struggle against the Bruins, going winless in their last five contests against Boston.

Bronze Pick

Nashville Predators (4-2-1) @ NY Rangers (1-5-2)

It may be the first game of the day, but it's also an ideal scenario for the Preds, as these two teams are trending in opposite directions. Nashville is coming off two convincing wins, while New York's lost two close decisions, and has only one win on the year.

Remaining matchups

Edmonton Oilers (2-4-0) @ Philadelphia Flyers (4-3-0)

The Oilers are starting to show signs of life coming off their second win, while the Flyers are firing blanks. Lean Edmonton in what should be a high-scoring, run-and-gun affair.

Toronto Maple Leafs (6-1-0) @ Ottawa Senators (3-1-3)

This is a tight one to call, as both teams have started the season strong. However, Auston Matthews and the high-flying Leafs are far too hot right now to bet against, so look for them to take this contest in a close one-goal game.

Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-1) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (6-1-1)

Pittsburgh played Friday night against the Panthers and struggled out of the gate, and that was with No. 1 netminder Matt Murray between the pipes. Saturday should be Antti Niemi's turn to start, which is never a fun night for Pens fans. Take Tampa for the win.

San Jose Sharks (3-3-0) @ NY Islanders (3-3-1)

Avoid betting on this snoozer altogether. But if you must, the Islanders have looked marginally better and the Sharks have struggled away from the tank, losing seven of their last 10 road games.

LA Kings (5-0-1) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (5-2-0)

Two of the hottest teams to start the season will go toe to toe Saturday night, and picking the winner is far from a lock. This is a classic coin flip, but seeing as the Kings just signed Brooks Laich (!?) to fill Jeff Carter's roster spot, the Jackets get the nod in this one.

Minnesota Wild (1-2-2) @ Calgary Flames (4-3-0)

The Wild have only one regulation win to their credit this season and have struggled lately at the Saddledome, losing their last two contests in Calgary. This game may lack goals, but that favors the Flames quite nicely.

Florida Panthers (2-4-0) @ Washington Capitals (4-3-1)

Washington and Florida played last night, meaning both should have their backup goalies manning the blue paint, making this game a bit of a sticky wicket to predict. However, the Panthers are winless on the road this season and Alex Ovechkin is lighting the lamp on the regular, so take the Caps to earn the home W.

Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-1) @ Dallas Stars (4-3-0)

The two big winners of the offseason face off for the first time with their revamped lineups. Carolina is riding the hot hand of netminder Scott Darling, and has only one regulation loss. Another coin-flip scenario, but take the Hurricanes in a one-goal game.

St. Louis Blues (6-2-0) @ Vegas Golden Knights (5-1-0)

Vegas has easily been the feel-good story of the 2017-18 campaign, but, realistically, it's the Blues who have been the Western Conference's best team, as they currently sit tops with 12 points. St. Louis keeps rolling against the Knights.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Fire away, fellas.

The Montreal Canadiens set a new franchise record for shots in a single period with 30 during the second stanza Friday in Anaheim, eclipsing their previous mark of 27.

Conversely, Ducks goaltender John Gibson set a new franchise record with 28 saves in the middle frame.

The Canadiens were outshot 21-7 and outscored 3-0 in the first period - clearly a message was sent at intermission.

The Canadiens are the NHL's lowest-scoring team, and there's no better way to open the floodgates than to get the puck on net.

It was all for naught, however, as the Canadiens failed to tie the game and gave up three goals in less than two minutes early in the third period.

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It was supposed to be, at least, a little bit different for the Buffalo Sabres this year.

First-year general manager Jason Botterill has a potential franchise player to build around in Jack Eichel, who signed a big-time contract extension and is admittedly sick of losing. There's also plenty of complimentary talent to work with - particularly up front - and this team seemed capable of challenging for a playoff spot.

But problems on defense and in net still remain, and until those are addressed, the Sabres do not seem poised to be any better under new head coach Phil Housley than in the Dan Bylsma era.

Here's a few examples of why that's the case.

Dominated by Canucks

To be perfectly frank, a home game against a Vancouver Canucks team that was defeated handily the night before should be a gimme for good teams. The Sabres did jump out to an early lead, and held a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes, but were soundly outplayed over the remaining two periods.

The above chart gives us a scope of the shot attempt differential, and the Canucks - who aren't projected to be a playoff team this season - ended up with a 41-22 advantage in terms of shots on goal.

In fairness, the Sabres were denied on an offside review that could have disallowed the eventual game-winning goal, but in the end, the loss was well-deserved.

Power play is a mess

Friday's game was the eighth of Buffalo's season, and a shorthanded goal scored by Derek Dorsett was the sixth allowed by the Sabres in that span.

Additionally, the Sabres have scored only five goals on the man advantage.

To be clear, Buffalo is being outscored 6-5 while on the power play.

Simply unheard of.

Defense needs serious work

Housley was brought in by way of the Nashville Predators in an effort to replicate a defensively sound, up-tempo brand of hockey. The problem is, the personnel just isn't in place to make it happen, especially on the blue line.

For Friday's game, Housley deployed a defense corps made up of Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Matt Tennyson, Jake McCabe, Victor Antipin, and Nathan Beaulieu. That's about as far as you can get from what the Predators roll out on any given night, and even still with Zach Bogosian and Justin Falk healthy and in the lineup.

The top pair logged 28:37 and 26:36 of ice time, respectively, and it's important to remember Ristolainen is just shy of his 23rd birthday, while Scandella ranked fifth in average ice time among Minnesota Wild defensemen last season. That's not what you want anchoring your blue line.

It also doesn't help that the Sabres' team save percentage ranks near the very bottom of the NHL, with a tandem of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson just not getting it done.

It's still early, but it appears as though the 1-5-2 Sabres remain a work in progress.

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Move over Jaromir Jagr, you have some company atop the all-time overtime goals list, as Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin made a little bit of history Friday.

Ovi buried a nasty one-timer to lift the Caps past the Red Wings. The goal was the 20th OT marker of his career, moving him into first place on the all-time list.

Here is tonight's historic game-winner:

To say Ovechkin has been on a decent tear would be the understatement of the new season, as No. 8 has been en fuego, netting 10 goals across the first nine games of the campaign.

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Another night, another controversial offside review in the NHL.

Hours after the league admitted an overturned goal from Thursday's action should have counted, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to have been on the wrong end of another challenge.

The goal was scored by Daniel Sedin, on a play where it appeared as though Jake Virtanen was clearly offside.

The Sabres challenged the call, resulting in a lengthy review.

The call on the ice of a good goal was eventually upheld, much to Sabres head coach Phil Housley's dismay.

Here's a sample of the reaction on Twitter:

For the record, here's the official explanation from the NHL:

After reviewing all available replays and consulting with the Linesman, NHL Hockey Operations staff confirmed that Vancouver's Jake Virtanen had possession and control of the puck as he entered the attacking zone prior to the goal. According to Rule 83.1, "a player actually controlling the puck who shall cross the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered 'off-side,' provided he had possession and control of the puck prior to his skates crossing the blue line."

Therefore the original call stands - good goal Vancouver Canucks.

The explanation, however, did not help.

Clearly there's still some work to do with these reviews.

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The Detroit Red Wings agreed to terms with winger Andreas Athanasiou on Friday to a one-year deal, the club announced. The contract is worth a reported $1.3875 million, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Detroit and AA had been apart on dollar figure, with the latest reports indicating the Wings were willing to offer the forward two years at $3.8 million, which Athanasiou's camp apparently balked at.

In order for the deal to be officially completed, Detroit must do some roster shuffling to come in under the salary cap, as McKenzie points out the club would not be cap compliant if the deal were to be inked today.

Athanasiou's contract saga had been one of the more talked-about storylines of the NHL's offseason, and until Ken Holland and Co. can work some magic with their lineup, expect it to drag on a little while longer.

McKenzie also notes the team will be looking to make a move in the coming days in an attempt to dump salary, and that a potential deal could involve Riley Sheahan and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are currently looking to add depth up the middle.

AA finished the 2016-17 campaign with 29 points in 64 games, and could be practicing with the team as early as next week if Detroit can quickly sort out its current cap crunch dilemma.

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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson has been suspended one game for boarding Boston Bruins forward Frank Vatrano, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday.

The incident occurred 6:13 into the first period of Thursday night's game. Gudbranson was assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. The Bruins would go on to score three times while forward Jake Virtanen served the penalty.

Vatrano escaped serious injury and remained in the game.

Gudbranson's suspension means he will miss Friday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, but will be eligible to return on Sunday when the Canucks visit the Detroit Red Wings.

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