NHL Picks

The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at KeyBank Center. The Blue Jackets held a playoff spot not too long ago, but a 3-6-1 stretch over their last 10 games now has them on the outside looking in. Columbus is coming off a 4-3 shootout win over Detroit on Tuesday, but the Red Wings are also spiraling. Going on the road to face the Sabres presents a much tougher challenge for Rick Bowness’ squad. The Sabres are a strong 25-10-4 at home this season, and now that a playoff spot is secured, the fans in Buffalo are sure to create a raucous environment for this contest.

The Blue Jackets have scored just 2 power play goals over their last 10 games, which doesn’t create a whole lot of confidence in their ability to take advantage of their chances on the man advantage. The Sabres seem to have the advantage on the power play, as their conversion rate of 24.% at home this season is good for 7th in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have won the previous 2 matchups between these teams this season, but the last meeting came back on January 3. The Sabres have reached another gear and are much-improved since then, while the Blue Jackets are trending in the wrong direction. Playing on home ice, look for the Sabres to find the win column in this one.

Blue Jackets vs Sabres prediction: Buffalo Sabres ML (-130) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number. 

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The Florida Panthers are travelling to Ottawa for the final time this season to face the Senators. After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Panthers will not have an opportunity to defend their title this year due to injuries that decimated the team throughout the season. Recently, the situation has worsened, and the team has many minor league players in the lineup, which, on paper, suggests they shouldn’t be winning. However, as we know, hockey is played on ice, and the Panthers have won all 3 of their previous matchups against the Senators.

Meanwhile, the Senators have won their last 2 games and are striving to secure the final playoff spot. Their offense has been impressive, scoring 12 goals in the last 2 games. However, for this team, goaltending is critical. Thomas Chabot is expected to return to the lineup after suffering a broken arm less than 3 weeks ago, providing a significant boost to the team that needs veteran leadership on the defensive end.

Although the Panthers are typically considered underdogs, their current odds imply they have a 29% chance of winning. Despite the Senators’ recent success, they shouldn’t be such heavy favorites. The Panthers are determined not to go down without a fight; they were less than 1 minute away from defeating the Canadiens on Tuesday. We see value in this matchup and hope the Panthers can complete the season sweep.

Panthers vs Senators Prediction: Florida Panthers ML (+260) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

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The Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night. The Flyers come into this one winning 3 of their last 5 games and 11 of their last 15. Their most recent loss came to the Red Wings, in which the Flyers outshot the Red Wings 34 to 19 but lost 4-2 on the night. Currently, the Flyers sit in 8th place of the Eastern Conference and will be hopeful to keep that spot. The Flyers average 2.87 goals per game, though they have scored 11 goals through their last 3 games. The Flyers rank 26th in total shots this season but also only allow 25.4 shots against them per game. We should see them try to control the pace in this game.

For the Red Wings, they currently rank 11th in the Eastern Conference. At one point, the Red Wings were in good shape for the playoffs, but they have lost 7 of their last 9 games. Making matters worse, the Red Wings have only won 2 of their last 12 games at home. If we look at overall form through the last 15 games, the Flyers rank 1st in the Eastern Conference with 23 points and the Red Wings ranks last with 12 points. Overall, the Flyers are trending up while the Red Wings are trending down. I am taking the Flyers on the money line.

Flyers vs Red Wings prediction: Philadelphia Flyers ML (+105) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to do something they haven’t done in 4 years on Thursday night, as a win over the New Jersey Devils will clinch them a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The playoffs are a better place with Sidney Crosby in them, and a potential Pennsylvania matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers has hockey fans dreaming of those classic series early in Crosby’s career when he went head-to-head with Claude Giroux.

The Penguins realize how close they are to clinching their spot, and they showed that with 2 dominant wins over the Florida Panthers this past weekend, winning the first game 9-4 and then following it up with a 5-2 victory the next night. If the Penguins’ offense continues to fire on all cylinders, they’ll be a tough team to beat heading into the postseason.

The Devils were on a hot streak to begin April, taking 5 of a possible 6 points until a 5-1 loss to the Flyers brought them back down to earth on Tuesday night. New Jersey is the type of team that can play spoiler down the stretch, but the Penguins find a way to get it done on Thursday night with a playoff spot on the line.

Penguins vs Devils prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins ML (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number. 

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be visiting the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night in what could be a potential first round playoff matchup in only a few weeks time. Heading into action on Wednesday night, the Canadiens, Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres are all tied at the top of the Atlantic Division with 102 points. With only 4 games remaining, winning this game is crucial for winning the division or finishing in 2nd and securing home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

This is a battle between 2 high-flying offensive teams. The Canadiens are 6th in the NHL, averaging 3.45 goals for per game, and the Lightning are 2nd in the league, averaging 3.55 goals per game. There is no shortage of skill in this game, highlighted by Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel for the Lightning, and Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield for the Canadiens. There is solid goaltending at both ends of the ice, but there is too much offensive talent out there for a low-scoring game.

I am anticipating a high-scoring, exciting game between these talented teams as they battle it out for an important 2 points. Give me the over in this one.

Lightning vs Canadiens prediction: Over 6.5 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues clash for the 4th and final time this season on Thursday night. While each team’s playoff lives are bleak, they are still within the running and aiming for that playoff appearance. Their efforts continue with this major 2 points. Here is our Jets vs. Blues prediction to see how things may play out.

Both teams have underwhelmed so far this season, but the Jets have much more to offer. Starting offensively, they’ve got a nice cast led by Mark Scheifele (97 points) and Kyle Connor (38 goals), along with elite offensive defenseman Josh Morrissey (54 points). While St. Louis has some strong players as well, they do not have as much firepower as the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start in net for Winnipeg, who is always a challenge for teams, especially a poor offensive team in St. Louis. Winnipeg outperforms St. Louis in goals per game (2.84 vs. 2.66), goals against per game (2.99 vs. 3.08), save percentage (.897 vs. .894), power play (18.4% vs. 17.3%) and penalty kill (78.3% vs. 75.9%). Winnipeg has also shown they can handle St. Louis, winning 2 of their 3 meetings this season. For our Jets vs. Blues prediction, we are siding with Winnipeg on the money line.

Jets vs. Blues prediction: Winnipeg Jets ML (-105) at the time of publishing. Playable to -110.

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The Carolina Hurricanes have won 4 of their last 5 games and 8 of their last 11 heading into a road date with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. There is not a whole lot at stake for either side, but the Hurricanes have to be the more motivated team in this matchup. Carolina has already clinched the Metropolitan Division title and is looking to hold off Buffalo for the #1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference. The Blackhawks, of course, are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They can secure the second-best odds to win the upcoming NHL Draft lottery with a few more losses.

The NHL has not exactly become a tank-a-thon like the NBA, but the ‘Hawks doing a stellar job of losing hockey games. They have dropped 6 of their last 7 games following Monday’s 3-2 road setback against the Sharks. During this stretch, 5 of Chicago’s losses have come in regulation – including 4 by multiple goals. Home-ice advantage should not making much of a difference. Taking overtime and shootout losses into account, Chicago is 11 games under .500 both on the road and at home in 2025-26. It heads into this contest on a 4-game home losing streak. Shockingly, the Blackhawks have not won in regulation at the United Center since February 2. Defensemen Artyom Levshunov (22 assists) and Matt Grzelcyk (12 assists) have been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season due to injury, which doesn’t help matters for the home side. I’m rolling with Carolina.

Hurricanes vs Blackhawks prediction: Carolina Hurricanes 3-way ML (-130) available at time of publishing. Playable to -140.

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An intriguing matchup awaits on Thursday night when the Minnesota Wild face the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Both teams have cleared the 100-point mark on the season, as Minnesota enters this contest with 102 points and Dallas enters with 104. Plus, it’s already known that these teams will face each other in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. That should make for a thrilling series, but each team has to finish out the regular season first.

Both of these offenses are capable of lighting the lamp early and often, but both teams possess strong defensive units that are capable of providing some resistance. On the season, Dallas ranks 2nd in the NHL allowing 2.69 goals per game, while Minnesota isn’t far behind ranking 4th allowing 2.82 goals per game. Both penalty kills have been effective as well, and the Wild enter this matchup having allowed just a single power play goal over their last 6 games. On the other side, the Stars are killing off over 82% of opposing power plays over their last 10 games. Furthermore, with their playoff matchup already locked in, it would be a bit surprising to see extreme offensive urgency from either side in this one. With a total of 6, the under is the play.

Wild vs Stars prediction: Under 6 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Nashville Predators and Utah Mammoth meet on Thursday night in the NHL for an all-important Central Division showdown. These two are neck and neck in the Western Conference playoff race, and have yet to claim their spot. Here is our expert Predators vs. Mammoth prediction for this vital matchup.

Utah has done well on home ice this season with a 20-14-3 record, and I see this improving. They have won 4 straight games and have been an offensive juggernaut, scoring 25 goals in the process. Momentum is at an all-time high, and there is even a chance they clinch their playoff spot in a win. Nashville is coming off a nice win, but at 3-3-1 over their last 7 games, they haven’t exactly been unstoppable in their most crucial point of the season. If Utah can continue this offensive surge, Nashville will very unlikely be able to keep pace, as they average less than 3 goals per game. This will be an absolute battle regardless, but I am siding with Utah on the money line for our Predators vs. Mammoth prediction.

Predators vs. Mammoth prediction: Utah Mammoth ML (-165) at the time of publishing. Playable to -175. 

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The San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks have played 3 games this season against one another, and all 3 have been high-scoring one-goal games. Anaheim won 7-6 in overtime back on October 11, while San Jose won 5-4 on December 29 and 4-3 on April 1. All of those games went over the listed total, but the total number of goals scored decreased from one game to the next. It’s clear these teams are figuring each other out, which could lead to a lower-scoring game in this Thursday night matchup.

The Ducks are especially struggling on offense right now, as they are scoring just 2.3 goals per game over their current 6-game losing streak. Furthermore, the power plays for the Sharks and Ducks are in a bit of a rut. San Jose is 0-for-8 on the man advantage over its last 3 games, while Anaheim is just 1-for-15 on the power play over its last 4 contests. Without strong special teams production, it’s tough to see this one going over the listed total of 6.5. Make it a small play considering the previous matchups between these teams this season, but consider the under.

Sharks vs Ducks prediction: Under 6.5 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable to -110.

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