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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8:00 PM ET

Today

ESPN

Golden Knights

Avalanche

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Money Line 3-Way Pick

COL Avalanche Win(-115)

Reasoning

The Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche will contest Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday night in Colorado. Vegas pulled off a 4-2 upset in the series opener on Wednesday, so you know the home team is going to come out with a sense of urgency in this one. It is by no means a must-win situation for the Avalanche, but at the same time they obviously don’t want to fall into a 2-0 hole before traveling to Las Vegas. The Avs have not suffered back-to-back losses since a 3-game skid March 14-18, so you have to like their chances of avoiding that fate in the playoffs. In rounds 1 and 2 combined against Los Angeles and Minnesota, Colorado lost a grand total of once. There is no reason to think this juggernaut of a club will suddenly lose twice in row. Of its 8 postseason victories, 6 have come in regulation — including 5 by multiple goals. As such, my Golden Knights vs Avalanche prediction is for Colorado to take care of business in regulation.

The Avalanche got within 1 goal late in Wednesday’s contest and had a decent chance to grab the equalizer and force overtime, but the Golden Knights eventually sealed the deal with an empty-net tally. It wasn’t like the visitors dominated from start to finish. In fact, the Avs finished with 10 more shots on goal (38 to 28). It did not help that Colorado was playing without star defenseman Cale Makar due to an upper-body injury suffered in Game 5 against the Wild. Makar’s status remains uncertain, but it sounds like there is a decent chance he will return on Friday. Regardless, though, the Avs’ roster is absolutely stacked. They didn’t win the Presidents’ Trophy with 121 regular-season points (at least 8 more than every other team) by mistake. Following a full week off, Colorado may have been a bit rusty in Game 1. That obviously won’t be an issue for Game 2. Look for the Avalanche to reassert themselves as the best team in hockey.

Golden Knights vs Avalanche prediction: Colorado 3-way ML (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120.

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Ricky Dimon

Vote on who will win!

8:00 PM ET

Yesterday

TNT

Canadiens

Hurricanes

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Money Line Pick

CAR Hurricanes Win(-200)

Reasoning

The Eastern Conference Finals begin Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina between the Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens swept the regular season series by winning all 3 meetings. However, the Hurricanes are a perfect 8-0 in the playoffs thus far, and they have been sitting idle since May 9 after completing the sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are coming off a hard-fought, 7-game series against the Buffalo Sabres that ended Monday. This leads us to the age-old discussion of rest vs. rust. I am a believer in rest over the long term, and I am confident that coach Rod Brind’Amour will have his players dialed and ready to play right from the drop of the puck.

The Hurricanes are an elite defensive team, leading the Stanley Cup Playoffs while averaging just 1.25 goals against per game. They do not possess the elite scoring talent of the Canadiens, but they have 4 solid lines, and they wear down their opponents by committee.

The Lenovo Center is a tough building for opponents to play in; the Hurricanes always come out flying on home ice. Look for the Hurricanes to get off to a quick start in Game 1 and not look back from there. I have the Hurricanes winning Thursday.

Canadiens vs. Hurricanes prediction: Carolina Hurricanes ML (-200) available at time of publishing. Playable to -220.

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Jon Picks

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.