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.

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7:07 PM ET

Today

FDSNW, MSGSN

Kings

Islanders

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Money Line Pick

NY Islanders Win(-140)

Reasoning

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The Los Angeles Kings continue their 5-game East Coast road trip on Friday night with a matchup against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. The Kings made the move to trade for Artemi Panarin just before the deadline, and while Panarin has been a steady contributor offensively, the Kings are just 3-4-1 with him in the lineup. Furthermore, Los Angeles’ plans for their forward group with Panarin in the mix got turned sideways then Kevin Fiala went down with a season-ending lower body injury in the Olympics. Fiala is still second on the team with 40 points this season, and not having him in the lineup is a tough blow for the Kings.

On the other side, the Islanders are happy to be returning home following a lengthy 4-game road trip on the West Coast. New York has been strong on home ice all season long, owning a record of 17-10-2 at UBS Arena. The Isles enter this matchup coming off back-to-back wins against the Sharks and Blues and have won 7 of their last 9 games. Ilya Sorokin continues to be in fine form between the pipes, and he is slated to get the starting nod in this one. He seems to have a favorable matchup on his hands, as the Kings rank 29th in the NHL by scoring 2.58 goals per game. Let’s back the Islanders at home.

Kings vs Islanders prediction: New York ML (-140) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

BET -140 NOW WITH

Connor Grootenhuis

8:07 PM ET

Today

Oilers

Blues

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Game Totals Pick

Over 6.5(-115)

Reasoning

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to get back in the win column with a stop in St. Louis to take on the Blues. After a tough loss to Dallas, where they fell 7-2 following a 5-0 deficit, the Oilers are eager to turn things around. Goaltending has been an issue, with Tristan Jarry unable to make timely saves. However, the defence was heavily tested by a strong Stars team, so the blame doesn’t fall solely on him. The Pacific Division remains wide open, so Edmonton needs to start stringing together some wins if they want to secure the top spot.

The Blues are coming off a solid 3-1 victory against the Hurricanes and still have an outside chance of making the playoffs. Like Edmonton, they are also playing at the tail end of a back-to-back series and their third game in four nights. St. Louis has struggled to score goals all year, but they might find some success tonight against a team that has been facing challenges in goal. With skill present on both sides, this game could be a high-scoring affair, but it’s also possible that Joel Hofer steps up and plays well. We’re leaning slightly towards the Over, especially given the Oilers’ elite power play and the presence of arguably two of the best players in the world.

Oilers vs Blues Prediction: Over 6.5 (-115) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

BET o6.5 NOW WITH

Christopher Morais

Vote on who will win!

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.