The road underdogs ran the table on Tuesday, so there's already a lot at stake for the favored home teams during Thursday's slate of rematches. Sportsbook Review betting analyst Neil Parker offers his top NHL bets based on the odds from our best NHL betting sites.
Three of the four playoff series are now tied at 1-1 following Wednesday's games, and Game 2 remains incredibly important in an NHL playoff series. The winning club either claims a commanding 2-0 lead or wipes the slate clean and shortens it to a best-of-five bout.
A pair of heavyweight squads will garner most of the headlines ahead of and after Thursday's games, with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and hot-button Toronto Maple Leafs both looking to equal their series. The New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights will both also seek to avoid suiting up down 2-0 on the r oad for Game 3 on Saturday.
Here are our best NHL picks (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's NHL schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+145) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-170)
- New York Rangers (+110) vs. New Jersey Devils (-130)
- Seattle Kraken (+190) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-225)
- Winnipeg Jets (+135) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-155)
Thursday's NHL best bets
- Player prop: Evan Rodrigues Over 2.5 shots (+105 via BetMGM) ??
- Player prop parlay: Nico Hischier + Jack Eichel both Over 2.5 shots (+165 via DraftKings) ??
Not intended for use in MA
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Thursday's NHL player prop picks
I'm not overthinking this one.
As long as Rodrigues is skating on the No. 1 line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the third wheel will spin. Rodrigues registered six shots and 10 attempts across a healthy 19:55 of ice time in Game 1, and I'm expecting him to produce another solid showing with the Avs down in the series.
Additionally, he isn't a flash in the pan. Rodrigues ranked third in shots and fourth in attempts per 60 minutes during the regular season.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +105 | -102 ?? | +105 | N/A | N/A |
This is only a two-star recommendation because there's always the potential for Colorado to make line adjustments ahead of or during Thursday's game. Rodrigues can still clear this total if he's slotted down the depth chart, but the possibility of fewer minutes would obviously cut into his shooting opportunities.
Still, I was surprised to see plus-money odds available for a proven high-volume shooter.
Check out our Rangers vs. Devils best bet!
Hischier was the most dangerous Devil in Game 1 against the Rangers. He totaled five shots on eight attempts while dominating five-on-five possession with a 72.7 Corsi For percentage.
It wasn't as smooth for Eichel. Still, he recorded nine attempts despite the Winnipeg Jets smothering him to the tune of a 37.9 CF% at five-on-fi ve in Game 1. The breakdown was also incredibly rare: two shots, one missed shot, and six blocked shots. That's not happening again Thursday.
With New Jersey and Vegas needing a home-ice win to avoid hitting the highway down 0-2, I'm anticipating even more willingness to shoot from both of these minute-hogging centers.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +165 ?? | +153 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
This is only a two-star recommendation because it's a parlay, and I'd grade each individual leg with three stars. However, there's a notable edge to playing it through DraftKings. The difference in the +165 number and +153 price is a positive expected value of 5%, or an increased profit of $1.15 on a $10 dollar bet.
The option to parlay shot props isn't widely available across our best sportsbooks, and this prop is also trading at +154 through bet365. Additionally, Barstool is listing Eichel's shot total at 3.5, with +257 odds for him and Hischier to go Over.
Check out our best sports betting sites and best sports betting apps.
NHL best bets made 4/20/2023 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Here are our best NHL betting sites:
- FanDuel: Bet $5, Ge t $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
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