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NHL Picks

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Today's Top Free Expert Picks

  • expert headshot
    Matt Severance
    #2
    +565
    (70%)
    7-3 in Last 10 NHL ML Picks
    BUF @ MON • Tue 6:30pm
    MON
    -155
    Money Line
    Picked: Oct 12 @ 8:27pm

    Analysis

    It's Frozen Frenzy Tuesday in the NHL! Might have to play at least a little something on all 16 games off site. Second of a back-to-back for Buffalo, which already has ruled out top blueliner and captain Rasmus Dahlin after he left Monday's win over Florida injured. The Sabres have played just one road game thus far and lost that by three goals. Both of their goalies played Monday, and that's not ideal in the front end of a B2B. These teams played a great seven-game conference semifinal back in May, won by Montreal.
  • expert headshot
    Matt Severance
    Severance Pays
    SEA @ PHI • Tue 7:00pm
    Under 6.5
    -137
    Over/Under
    Picked: Oct 13 @ 12:59pm

    Analysis

    The winless Flyers are easily the worst offensive team in the NHL with eight total goals scored so they are pretty much an auto-fade Under 6.5 ... and 7.5 in some cases. Seattle is among the NHL scoring leaders but I'm not buying that as the Kraken didn't go get Connor McDavid or anything in the offseason. Maybe dragging a bit too in a third road game in five nights. The SL Model has this has the lowest-scoring game of the night. It's our only 6.5.
  • expert headshot
    Matt Severance
    Severance Pays
    TB @ NYR • Tue 7:15pm
    Under 6.5
    -133
    Over/Under
    Picked: Oct 13 @ 12:14pm

    Analysis

    Both No. 1 goalies are starting in Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy and New York's Dylan Garand. We all know how good the future Hall of Famer Vasy is in any given season (2.29 GAA so far in 2026-27). The rookie Garand has been lights out since taking over for out-for-season Igor Shesterkin. Garand is third in the league with a 1.20 GAA. When these clubs met also at MSG on Oct. 1, there were six total goals scored with Vasy and Igor in the nets.
  • expert headshot
    Todd Fuhrman
    #1
    +576
    (100%)
    5-0 in Last 5 NHL Picks
    STL @ OTT • Tue 7:30pm
    STL
    +110
    Money Line
    Picked: Oct 12 @ 1:20pm

    Analysis

    Ottawa will be playing their 3rd game in 4 days leaning into a back-up goalie against a rested Blues side; little to say I don't get to this number as Ottawa continues to deal with injuries most notably to Jake Sanderson on the blue line. He was ruled out for Monday and I believe unlikely to return at home here as well. My number assuming a Hofer - Ersson start is closer to Blues -101 adjusting for the situation and key absences so we'll click a bet on the road underdog.
  • expert headshot
    Jeff Hochman
    West Coast Wiseguy
    CGY @ ANA • Tue 9:45pm
    CGY +1.5
    -130
    Spread
    Picked: Oct 12 @ 3:53pm

    Analysis

    The market seems to be overreacting to early-season records—Calgary is 0-5-0, while Anaheim is 4-1-0. But on a closer look, regression analysis shows Calgary is generating 3.20 expected goals per 60 minutes, even though their 4.88% shooting percentage and 82.4% save percentage are both unsustainably low. Anaheim’s hot start is shaky. They have just a 47.25% Corsi share and an inflated 1.011 PDO. Calgary is controlling the five-on-five chance battle, which makes the puck line a smart value play. These teams just met in Calgary, where the Ducks won 4-2, but it was tied 2-2 heading into the third. The Flames are 3-2 in the last five meetings in Anaheim, with both losses by one goal. Sprinkle some +180 on the money line.

Today's Top Free Player Prop Picks

Built using SportsLine's cutting-edge machine learning, predictions and ratings are generated for each player prop by analyzing historical performance, opponent matchup scores, odds, and prop line movements
  • NJ @ DET • 6:00 pm
    player headshot
    V. Arvidsson
    Over 2.5
    -122
    Shots on Goal
    PROJ: 2.6
  • FLA @ CLB • 6:15 pm
    player headshot
    M. Tkachuk
    Over 2.5
    -114
    Shots on Goal
    PROJ: 2.9
  • BUF @ MON • 6:30 pm
    player headshot
    J. Doan
    Over 1.5
    -118
    Shots on Goal
    PROJ: 2

Latest News

The NHL is gaining momentum as a popular sport for betting as access to sportsbooks expands across the country. Sportsbooks will often offer promotions such as same-game parlays and profit boosts to entice potential bettors to use their apps when betting on the NHL. Puck lines, money lines and totals are the standard markets for NHL betting discussion, while player props offer another avenue for betting on hockey during the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. Bettors can also take positions on who will win the title or awards such as the Conn Smythe Trophy in futures markets.

NHL Sports Betting Terms:

  • With regular action most days from the start of the season in the fall until the Stanley Cup final in June, NHL betting provides the opportunity to make predictions on the outcomes of hockey games for a majority of the year. Here are terms you should know to familiarize yourself with NHL betting:

  • Lines

    The term “lines” refers to odds for bettable outcomes in NHL games, including money lines, puck lines (which are known as spreads in other sports) and totals. When making money line bets, the only aspect of the outcome that decides whether the bet is successful is who wins the game, no matter the final score. The favored team returns less potential profit in the event of a win than the underdog, with the odds determined by the sportsbook based upon the likelihood of each team winning. A negative number for a money line represents the size of the wager needed to win $100, while a positive number represents profit potential on a $100 bet. For example, a -150 favorite would require a $150 bet to have the opportunity to win $100, while a +150 underdog would pay $150 in profit on a successful $100 wager. Puck lines are based on scoring margin, with the favored team typically being -1.5 and the underdog +1.5. Betting on the favored team means they would need to win the game by at least two goals, while a bet on the underdog pays out if they win the game by any margin or lose by one goal. With one goal being the most common scoring differential in the NHL, the payouts tend to be higher when betting on the favorite with a -1.5 puck line, offering bettors the opportunity to pursue higher profit potential than the money line while backing a favorite.

  • Totals

    Wagering on totals involves taking a position on the number of goals scored in a game or a portion of the game, such as the first period. When betting the total, bettors must decide whether the total amount of goals scored by both teams for the game or segment of the game will be over (more) or under (less) than the line listed by sportsbooks. The payouts related to each side will also be listed with the total. For example, a total of 6.5 goals with -120 on the Over and +100 on the Under would return $100 in profit for a $120 bet on Over 6.5 if there are seven or more goals scored in the game by both teams combined. If there are six or fewer goals scored, a $100 bet would return $100 in profit.

  • Props

    Bettors can wager on other more specific outcomes in NHL games besides the standard markets above. These proposition bets (also known as props) can include player props, such as the number of goals or assists a certain player accumulates; team props, such as whether one team will go over its own goal total set by the sportsbook; or game props, such as whether a game will go into overtime. Player props are a popular way to bet on NHL games and are a core part of same-game parlay bets. Players have lines generated by sportsbooks that are tied to statistical outcomes in their control, and bettors can take positions on whether a player goes over or under those totals. This could involve points, assists, saves and shots on goal, for example. Bettors can also wager on players to score a goal at any time in the game or to lead the game in a category like points. Team props include team totals, which isolates each team for totals betting rather than combining them for the standard totals market. Bettors will only be invested in, for example, whether the home team in a matchup scores more or fewer than 3.5 goals rather than whether both teams combine for more or fewer than 6.5 goals. Team props include betting on team totals, which in effect splits the game total into a unique number for each team correlated with the spread and allows bettors to take positions on only one team. Some markets can also involve both teams or neither team scoring above a certain points threshold. Game props involve other outcomes outside of specific players, such as which team scores first or whether one team will come from behind to win the game. Bettors can also try to predict the exact final score of the game for higher potential profit than betting on the puck line or total.

  • Live Betting

    Bettors can also get involved in certain betting markets after an NHL game starts via live betting, where sportsbooks will adjust the odds for standard and select prop markets to reflect the course of the game in real time. Interested bettors are able to assess the flow of the game and account for key injuries or other factors when deciding whether to live bet against the sportsbooks’ real-time odds. Hedging is also a key strategy for some live bettors, which allows the opportunity to make a second bet opposite a position taken before the game started at a better number. For example, if a pregame underdog bet at +1.5 takes an early lead and becomes the -1.5 favorite on the puck line, taking the other team at +1.5 would guarantee that one of the two bets would hit while providing the opportunity to win both if either team loses by just one goal.

  • Futures Betting

    Futures betting involves betting into markets based around outcomes that resolve further in the future than a single game. Examples include betting on who will win the Stanley Cup, the Hart Trophy for regular season MVP or other events involving more than a single game. Another component of futures betting is win totals, where each team will have a total number of wins listed by the sportsbooks and bettors can take positions on those teams to win more (Over) or fewer (Under) games. A win total of 50.5 would pay to the Under if the team wins 50 or fewer games and to the Over if the team wins 51 or more games. League awards are also considered futures betting, with bettors able to predict the winners of the Hart, Norris and Vezina Trophies as well as other awards. These awards may only be available in certain markets where allowed by state regulations. Another way to back particular players is to bet on them to lead the league in a particular category such as goals scored.