NHL Picks

Free Expert NHL picks throughout the 2025/26 NHL season. We crunch the numbers, analyze the data, and provide free NHL picks every day of the regular season and throughout the NHL Playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals.

Filter Picks

9:37 PM ET

Yesterday

ESPN

Oilers

Ducks

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Game Totals Pick

Over 7.0(-110)

Reasoning

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to regroup against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. As expected, the goaltending has been subpar, but the lack of attention to detail on defense has been even more concerning. Edmonton has allowed the most goals in the playoffs by a significant margin. While Connor Ingram shares some of the blame, there have also been numerous mistakes by the players in front of him. The Oilers need to improve their defensive play if they want to keep this series competitive.

Anaheim has capitalized on those mistakes, amassing a high number of shots and goals. They have generated a significant volume of high-danger scoring chances, and the Oilers have had no answer for it. The Ducks have performed above average at home throughout the season, and that success has continued into the playoffs. Lukas Dostal has allowed 4 goals in each of the first 3 games, and that trend could persist tonight.

The total for the game is set at 7.0, and it may increase before puck drop. Despite the high number, considering both teams’ ability to generate offense against questionable goaltending, I anticipate taking the over and hoping for another high-scoring game.

Oilers vs Ducks prediction: Over 7.0 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

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2:07 PM ET

Yesterday

TNT/HBO MAX

Sabres

Bruins

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Money Line Pick

BUF Sabres Win(-105)

Reasoning

The Buffalo Sabres will take on the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Playoff Series on Sunday. The Sabres currently lead the series 2-1, outshooting the Bruins in all 3 games so far. Even more impressive is that the Sabres have held the Bruins to 6 goals through 3 games, which is exactly the type of playoff defense the Sabres were hoping for. On the season, the Sabres offense averaged 3.45 goals per game, which put them 5th in the NHL. They also finished the regular season 5th in shooting percentage. Defensively, the Sabres have the 3rd-best save percentage with their goaltenders stopping 89.9% of the shots they face.

The Bruins are hoping for a bounce back game, but that seems unlikely given the defensive struggles. The Bruins allow the most power play opportunities while yielding 3.01 goals per game. In fact, their 76.9% penally kill and 64 power-play goals allowed are among the worst in the NHL, and yet, all 8 of the Buffalo goals have been 5-on-5. At some point, the Sabres are going to break through on power plays, which means this will be an even bigger uphill battle for Boston.

Overall, I expect a sloppy showing from the Bruins, especially defensively, paving the way for another Buffalo win

Sabres vs. Bruins Prediction: Buffalo Sabres ML (-105) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -110.

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4:37 PM ET

Yesterday

TNT

Avalanche

Kings

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Money Line PickBest Bet

COL Avalanche Win(-170)

Reasoning

Game 4 between the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings is here, as the Avalanche look for the first-round sweep. The veteran Kings clawed their way to a playoff spot, but they are on the verge of rendering it meaningless. Can they give their home crowd at least 1 playoff win? Our Avalanche vs. Kings prediction will offer our own view.

Los Angeles hasn’t been terrible per se, but their sound defense (2.67 goals against average) and excellent special teams (100% penalty kill, 23.1% power play) just haven’t been enough. This isn’t much of a surprise considering the Avalanche were always expected to win this series, no matter how well the Kings played on that end of the ice — as their offense is highly questionable at best. That has been the story of this series, and I expect it to continue in Game 4.

Colorado hasn’t been all-worldly this series, but they know how to win, which makes all the difference. Playing on the road is no issue for them, as shown by their multi-goal win in Game 3. This three-game winning streak from Colorado has come with a 0% power play and just 3 combined points from Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Necas. That just proves what a deep, well-balanced and well-coached team this group is. The Kings won’t go down easy, but I see the Avalanche completing the sweep. Take Colorado on the money line for our Avalanche vs. Kings prediction.

Avalanche vs. Kings best bet: Colorado Avalanche ML (-170) available at time of publishing. Playable to (-195).

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7:07 PM ET

Yesterday

ESPN+

Lightning

Canadiens

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Game Totals Pick

Under 6.0(-115)

Reasoning

The Montreal Canadiens have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in this electric best-of-7 series. Game 4 will be played on Sunday night in Montreal after each of the first 3 games needed overtime to settle. The margins are razor thin in this series, and there is no room to make a mistake. The goaltending and defensive play has been solid, making high-danger scoring chances hard to come by. Despite 3 straight overtimes, 2 of the first 3 games have gone under the game total, mostly due to the reasons just noted. I don’t see any reason to believe that Game 4 will be played any differently than the first 3; Jon Cooper and Martin St. Louis have their teams buttoned up defensively.

Going down 3-1 in the series against the Canadiens will be very difficult to come back from for the Lightning. Future hall of famer Andrei Vasilevskiy has yet to steal a game for the Lightning. I expect his best performance of the series tonight. With the tight defensive play and good goaltending in this game, I think we are in for another low-scoring game. Give me the under in this one.

Lightning vs. Canadiens prediction: Under 6.0 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Your Home For Free NHL Expert Picks For The 2025/26 Season

At Pickswise we have expert NHL picks for all of the top NHL action throughout the 2025/26 season. We crunch the numbers, analyze the data, and provide the best free NHL expert picks every day. The NHL is an exciting sport to wager on and there are plenty of opportunities for wins during the bumper 2025/26 NHL season.

Lots of hockey is to be played before we find out who the next Stanley Cup champions will be. Check out all things hockey, every day of the season with our free NHL picks and analysis.

How Do I Get NHL Picks For Today’s Games?

NHL Picks are most similar to MLB Picks, in that the most popular NHL wagering is done via the Money line (ML) where a bettor simply picks a winner or loser of the game finding value in the price. Just like an MLB pitcher, NHL game lines are determined largely by the goaltender matchup. You’re going to pay a premium price (-180 or more) for putting in an NHL free pick on a solid goaltender – but it’s one position that can win or lose the bet for you. Fatigue is also a factor in finding the best NHL picks as Team A may be playing their first game in a week while Team B is in their 3rd contest in 5 nights.

We try to post our NHL picks for today at least 24 hours in advance. However, due to the huge volume of games, this can sometimes be impossible if teams are playing back-to-back games. We want to get our picks up as close as possible to the opening lines so we can get on the early line value, but team news and research is always key to making the best possible NHL Picks.

NHL Picks Against the Spread

NHL betting has a 1.5-goal spread known as the puck line (PL). Again just like baseball betting has the run line (-1.5). NHL wagers are exciting until the very last second of the game as teams often pull their goaltender near the end to get an extra skater on the ice. All of a sudden an empty-net goal pushes your NHL free pick to victory – or defeat. Betting on the puck line provides better payout odds and NHL picks against the spread can also be pushed to higher numbers such as -2.5 or 3.5 goals for an even better return on investment.

Free NHL Over / Under Picks

Most games are listed right around 5.5 goals in the NHL. The total number of goals is the total of combined goals by both teams and you can either select over or under the total. If the line is 5.5 and you wish to wager on the over then the total combined goals for the game must be 6 or more for you to cash your ticket.

NHL over/under betting is an interesting wager. A huge factor to take into consideration is the goaltenders as they have a huge part to play in influencing the number of goals in the game. A goaltender’s Goals Against Average (GAA) is a key stat to measure the effectiveness of a goaltender.

NHL Consensus Picks

NHL Consensus Picks is a way of saying the popular pick or often referred to as a public pick. What this actually means is where the majority of the bets are being placed. If we’re looking at Money Line markets, for example, if 70% of the tickets are on the Pittsburgh Penguins to beat the New York Islanders, then the Penguins are the consensus pick for that game. Bettors can use this in their research or check possible line moves in the lead-up to a game.

Ice Hockey Betting Picks

Our ice hockey betting picks will typically follow and feature on the NHL season with picks and Predictions available all season long. Our experts will be primed and ready in times of Olympic years and select other competitions throughout the year too. Our ice hockey picks, as expected will include picks on the money line, puck line, totals, and several player and team Hockey Prop Bets

Hockey Computer Picks

With so many hockey games played each season, analytics, lineups, and small changes can make a huge difference in a matchup. These are just some of the reasons why bettors may opt to use or consider hockey computer picks, as a metric that can be rid of human bias, and offer a solely data-driven analytical look at a matchup, betting markets, and projections.

Free Hockey Picks Today

Here at Pickswise, our hockey handicappers bring you all of the top action, picks, and previews of today’s best NHL matches today. We offer free hockey picks all season, right through until the Stanley Cup Finals themselves. Each match will have an expert hockey pick on the Puck Line, Money Line, and Goals totals, accompanied with detailed analysis and stats. Check out all of our free hockey picks today.

More Than Just NHL Picks

We also specialize in every major North American sport including the following throughout their respective seasons so check out the links below for our top plays right now.