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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7:00 PM ET

Today

TNT

Canadiens

Sabres

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Money Line Pick

BUF Sabres Win(-118)

Reasoning

The Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens will collide in an absolutely critical Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday night in Buffalo. Heading back south of the border, this best-of-7 set is all tied up 2-2 following Buffalo’s 3-2 victory in Game 4. I think the momentum will continue, so my Canadiens vs Sabres pick is the home team on the money line.

Having dropped Game 2 and Game 3 to fall behind 2-1, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made a change in net from Alex Lyon to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Tuesday. It proved to be the perfect touch, as Luukkonen stopped 20 of 30 shots. Buffalo as a whole delivered a much cleaner performance, providing UPL with much more help than it did for Lyon in the previous 2 outings. The effort was not exactly anything new for Luukkonen. Even though he struggled a bit in 2 starts against the Bruins in Round 1, the 27-year-old Finn compiled a 22-9-3 regular-season record with a 2.52 goals-against average and .910 save percentage as the Sabres compiled the second-most points in the East behind only Carolina. It’s also worth noting that Buffalo took care of business in Montreal on Tuesday despite putting just 20 shots on Dobes. If the Sabres can generate just a little bit more in the offensive zone, it should once again be enough help for Luukkonen.

Canadiens vs Sabres Game 5 prediction: Buffalo Sabres ML (-118) available at time of publishing. Playable to -125.

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9:30 PM ET

Today

TNT

Golden Knights

Ducks

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Money Line Pick

VGS Golden Knights Win(-110)

Reasoning

It is time for Game 6 between the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights. This has been an absolute dog fight of a series, and with both teams going back and forth, the Golden Knights now sit 1 win away from the Western Conference Finals. Can Anaheim stave off elimination? Here is our expert Ducks vs. Golden Knights prediction for a critical contest.

Vegas has owned Anaheim in many facets of the game during the series, including their power play operating over 30% and winning nearly 56% of faceoffs. In the playoffs overall, they own the third-highest goals per game average (3.55) and a penalty kill near 90% (87.9%). When they have found success during these playoffs, it is clear it comes from an excellent structure and a well-balanced game, as opposed to luck and run-and-gun.

A key part to this success is being led by head coach John Tortarella, who is extremely well-versed in the playoffs with a Stanley Cup and over 130 games of playoff coaching experience. While Anaheim is beaming with potential and talent, their impressive run will come to an end. Vegas boasts a deep, talented and experienced roster that should be able to put this over the finish line, even on the road — where they have posted a winning record in the playoffs (3-2). For our Golden Knights vs. Ducks prediction, we are siding with the hot hand in Vegas to close out the series.

Golden Knights vs Ducks Game 6 prediction: Vegas ML (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -125.

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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.