With 15 games on the penultimate night in the NHL regular season, there's plenty of meat on the old betting bone as long as you're careful with your picks. Read on for our NHL best bets for Thursday based on the best NHL odds.
With every playoff spot in both conferences accounted for, we might not see full-strength lineups on Thursday night. We might see an array of backup goaltenders and a few AHL-level players.
Still, there are a few teams looking to switch playoff positions, and we're going to focus on the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, and San Jose Sharks.
With that in mind, here are our best NHL picks (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's NHL schedule and odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- Detroit Red Wings (+225) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-265)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (+110) vs. New York Rangers (-130)
- Boston Bruins (-285) vs. Montreal Canadiens (+240)
- New Jersey Devils (-175) vs. Washington Capitals (+150)
- Carolina Hurricanes (-175) vs. Nashville Predators (+150)
- Ottawa Senators (+120) vs. Buffalo Sabres (-140)
- Winnipeg Jets (+150) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-175)
- St. Louis Blues (+195) vs. Dallas Stars (-230)
- Minnesota Wild (-110) vs. Nashville Predators (-110)
- Philadelphia Flyers (-115) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (-105)
- San Jose Sharks (+380) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-475)
- Vancouver Canucks (-155) vs. Arizona Coyotes (+135)
- Los Angeles Kings (-230) vs. Anaheim Ducks (+195)
- Vegas Golden Knights (-120) vs. Seattle Kraken (+100)
Thursday's NHL best bets
- Puck line: Br uins -1.5 (-110 via DraftKings) ????
- Moneyline: Devils (-175 via DraftKings) ????
- Puck line: Oilers -1.5 (-180 via DraftKings) ????
- Player prop: Jack Hughes Over 0.5 assists (-145 via DraftKings) ????
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Thursday's NHL top picks
Yes, I understand the Bruins have nothing left to play for considering they've already broken the regular season wins/points record. I also understand that they may rest key players in anticipation of the first round of the playoffs. That said, a shorthanded Bruins squad should still be able to handle business against the ragged, lowly Canadiens.
The Habs have lost six of their past seven games, with five of those losses coming by two or more goals. In fact, they've dropped both of their head-to-head matchups against Boston this season, and both of those losses were by multiple scores.
Although Montreal generally gets up for games against their most bitter rival, Boston is the better team using basically every metric, and their backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman has been absolutely lights out this season (2.21 goals against average, .922 save percentage and 11.17 goals saved above average in 36 appearances).
If you're backing the Bruins at a -1.5 spread, DraftKings is the best place to go (-110).
The Devils actually have something to play for. Sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division, New Jersey (with some help) has the opportunity to leapfrog Carolina into first place.
The Capitals, for their part, don't really have anything t o play for. The Devils are a superior team in goals per game, goals surrendered per game, Corsi for percentage, expected goals for, expected goals against, and expected goals for percentage. They've also won two of the three head-to-head matchups this season.
With the line hovering around -190 with most sportsbooks, -175 at DraftKings is easily the best line out there.
WIth a 9-0-1 record over their past 10 games, the Oilers are the hottest team in the NHL, and I don't expect them to slow down against the bottom-feeding Sharks. Leading the league with nearly four goals per game (3.95), Edmonton is the better team in regards to goals per game, goals surrendered per game, Corsi for percentage, expected goals for, expected goals against, and expected goals for percentage.
Outside of Erik Karlsson's brilliant 100-point campaign, it's been a rough season for San Jose. Embroiled in a five-game losing streak, one of those defeats was a 6-1 loss to the Oilers last week. I expect more of the same Thursday night.
A clear favorite with every sportsbook, DraftKings continues to be the best place to snatch this bet up at -180.
A key architect in the Devils' complete turnaround, Hughes is polishing off an MVP-caliber season in which he's racked up 43 goals and 97 points in 77 games. He also has 11 points during a seven-game point streak, including eight assists.
With the Devils looking to vault themselves into first place in the Metro, I expect Hughes to continue his reign of terror, setting up at least one goal on Thursday night.
NHL picks made 04/13/2023 at 12:45 p.m. ET.
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