NHL Best Bets Today: October 3 Picks & Predictions, including Kings vs Sharks
The first weekend of the 2026-27 NHL season is officially underway, so why not add to the huge college football slate with some NHL best bets today? There may not be any afternoon action, but there is still a massive 13-game slate for us to enjoy. From seven games in the early window alone to some west coast clashes, there is plenty to break down. That’s what we’ve done for you so that you can just sit back and enjoy watching some predictions play out!
Along with our NHL best bets today, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today’s action.
NHL Best Bets Today: Buffalo Sabres -1.5 (+120) over Chicago Blackhawks
It’s only fitting to kick things off with one of the aforementioned games in the early window, which is an interconference clash that brings plenty of intrigue. First and foremost, we’ll say that over 5.5 total goals also brings plenty of value as an addition to our NHL best bets today, but we’ll enjoy the plus-money here.
First and foremost, Connor Bedard won’t be featured in this game. The young, 21-year-old captain of the Blackhawks being off the ice certainly takes away from the over, but the Sabres are a team that can clear six or more goals themselves with ease. They did so in a single period multiple times last year, and will be looking to do so tonight in front of the home crowd. This marks the start of a five-game homestand for Buffalo, while Chicago starts their season with three straight road games.
We saw that begin with an uncompetitive 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights followed by a 6-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth, and this Sabres squad is even more explosive. Furthermore, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net if Alex Lyon continues to recover is not only fine by us, but frankly, preferred. We’ll back either of those guys with the first of our NHL best bets today.
NHL Best Bets Today: Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks Over 6 (-120)
If you’d rather not sweat out a team winning by multiple goals or a winner at all, then you can just root for goals later in the night. While Connor Bedard won’t be part of any NHL best bets today, Macklin Celebrini certainly can be.
The 20-year-old signed a contract extension with the San Jose Sharks this offseason worth $94 million, so it’s safe to say that he’s living up to the hype. He may not be able to go out for a drink after this game yet, but if it’s anything like the Los Angeles Kings’ season opener, he’ll certainly want to. We saw LA go down 8-4 to the Colorado Avalanche, and while San Jose doesn’t have as deep of a team as the Avs, they can do their part for this total thanks to Celebrini plus some offseason additions.
Similarly, the Kings aren’t a team known to be extremely explosive and potent offensively, but against San Jose, any team can be. They finished last season allowing the third-most goals per game and are rolling with Yaroslav Askarov once again. So, it’s also worth noting that the over went 3-0 between these Pacific Division rivals last year, so it’s making the cut for our NHL best bets today.
Don't miss our full Kings vs Sharks prediction
NHL Best Bets Today: Calgary Flames vs Vancouver Canucks Over 6.5 (-120)
Speaking of the Pacific Division, let’s stay right there and right the other late game of the Saturday slate. This time, it’s between two squads that enter the year without high expectations, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they can’t help us cash some NHL best bets today. As you can see, we can just root for goals again!
If you prefer, we’d back Calgary Flames in this spot on the road. That’s largely for the same reason as liking a high-scoring contest - the Vancouver Canucks are simply in full rebuild mode. However, it’s worse than that. They’re in a rebuild mode, but did virtually nothing this offseason other than keep Elias Pettersson. That said, we won’t be surprised to see him become Quinn Hughes of last year in terms of the team trading him away. All of this points to the Flames (who are actually rebuilding) doing most of the damage towards this total. They did so in each of the last two times these teams met, winning 7-3 and 5-2. Along with the Canucks actually scoring five goals in the first meeting of last season, let’s hit another over in our best bets piece today.
