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The 2026 NHL Playoffs kicked off with furious action Saturday, and four more exciting matchups are on tap for Sunday. The action got started early with the Western Conference top seed Colorado Avalanche hosting the Los Angeles Kings at 3 p.m. ET, and the Utah Mammoth visit the Vegas Golden Knights to wrap things up with another West battle at 10 p.m. ET. Two Eastern Conference matchups are sandwiched in between, with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Montreal Canadiens at 5:45 p.m. ET and the Boston Bruins visiting the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET.    

We have broken down the latest NHL odds at DraftKings Sportsbook and used recommendations from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NHL game 10,000 times, to find the best bets you can make for Sunday's games. The SportsLine model entered the final week of the 2025-26 NHL season profitable on top-rated NHL picks this season, including a +550 return on top-rated money-line picks. NHL games give bettors plenty of choices, from parlay betting to spread betting and Over/Under bets to player prop betting.

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NHL Playoffs picks for Sunday, April 19

Canadiens money line (+155)

Montreal has beaten Tampa Bay twice since the final day of last month, pulling off a 4-1 victory in Tampa on March 31 and winning at home 2-1 on April 9. The Canadiens outshot the Bolts 22-18 and had a 7-4 edge in power plays in the last matchup. They didn't score with the man advantage, but Cole Caufield became the first Montreal player to reach 50 goals since 1990 in the game (he finished with 51). The SportsLine model likes the Habs to win as plus-money underdogs, as they do so in 49% of its simulations. 

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David Pastrnak 1+ assists (+100)

The Bruins' star led the team with 100 points and is averaging 0.92 assists per game this season. He had three points -- a goal and two assists -- in Boston's 4-3 overtime victory in Buffalo the last time these teams met. Pastrnak had at least one point in three of the four matchups with the Sabres this season, and while three of those came from goals, he is an assists machine. The SportsLine model has Pastrnak pegged for 0.43 goals and 0.78 assists.

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Mammoth money line (+130)

The model has a 'B' grade on the Utah money line, as they are winning in 51% of simulations as plus-money underdogs. The Mammoth are covering the +1.5 puck line 71% of the time, but the heavy juice makes the money line the value play. Utah lost three of its final four games but won five in a row before that and won 4-0 in Vegas in the most recent meeting between these teams. The Golden Knights won seven of their final eight, but the model leans toward Utah in the opener.  

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