Top NHL Picks at a Glance
- Philadelphia Flyers Moneyline
- Minnesota Wild Moneyline
- Edmonton Oilers -1.5
Whether it’s moneylines, goal props, or who lights the lamp, there are plenty of ways to bet on NHL action all season. It’s a long 82-game campaign, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.
For additional NHL insights, check out FanDuel Research’s daily NHL player prop projections, which are powered by numberFire.
Let’s dive into the best bets for tonight.
NHL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.
Today’s Best NHL Betting Picks and Props
Best Bet #1 — Philadelphia Flyers Moneyline (-114)
Penguins at Flyers | Game 3 | 7 PM ET | PHI leads series 2-0
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The most surprising story of the 2026 NHL playoffs first round has taken place in Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia Flyers — a team that spent most of the regular season being evaluated as a rebuilding project — have gone into Pittsburgh and won two consecutive games on the road to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. They won Game 1 on a Travis Sanheim third-period go-ahead goal, and followed it up with a 3-0 shutout in Game 2 behind Dan Vladar’s first career playoff win and shutout. Now they come home to Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, and the betting market has this game essentially even at -115 Flyers and -104 Penguins.
Why the Flyers hold serve at home:
- Dan Vladar has been the story of this series. He made 17 saves in Game 1 and 27 in Game 2, posting a .954 save percentage across two games while the Pittsburgh Penguins generated legitimate offensive zone time but simply could not beat him. His Game 1 and Game 2 numbers are extraordinary for a goalie making just his second and third career playoff starts, and while the regression narrative will eventually apply, two more days of preparation and familiarity with Pittsburgh’s tendencies means Vladar is more dangerous, not less
- Pittsburgh’s power play has been a disaster — 0-for-7 across two games with just three shots on net from the man advantage. The Penguins have the personnel to fix that (Crosby and Malkin are two of the greatest power-play performers in NHL history), but Philly’s penalty kill ranked second in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and has not shown any cracks in this series. That special-teams gap is the cleanest structural advantage in this entire matchup
- The Flyers went 20-13-8 at home this season and have the building momentum of returning to Philly with their fan base having watched the team steal two road wins. The crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena will be electric in a way it has not been for a Philadelphia hockey playoff game in years
- Philadelphia’s defensive structure under Rick Tocchet is built on suffocating opposing offenses in the neutral zone and limiting the Penguins’ transition speed, which is exactly the type of play that neutralizes Evgeni Malkin’s late-career effectiveness
- Stuart Skinner has been excellent in net for Pittsburgh — he made 20 saves in Game 2 and kept the Penguins competitive — but the problem is not goaltending. The problem is that the Penguins’ offense becomes one-dimensional when the power play fails, and Philly is disciplined enough to avoid giving Pittsburgh the man-advantage opportunities that their offense requires to stay involved
- Pittsburgh is 0-2 with an aging core staring at potential elimination. Crosby and Malkin are driven competitors who will push hard in Game 3, but the urgency that drives great performances in playoff hockey tends to produce tight, low-scoring games that favor the team with the better goaltender — and through two games, that is clearly Vladar
Best Bet #2 — Minnesota Wild Moneyline (-126)
Stars at Wild | Game 3 | 9:30 PM ET | Series Tied 1-1
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This series has lived up to every ounce of its billing as the best matchup in the Western Conference first round. The Minnesota Wild dominated Game 1 with a 6-1 blowout, the Dallas Stars answered with a professional 4-2 win in Game 2 at American Airlines Center, and now the series shifts to the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul for Games 3 and 4. The Wild return to their building holding all the critical advantages for tonight’s matchup, and the most significant one is not on the ice — it is on the injury report.
Roope Hintz will not play in Game 3. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan confirmed on Tuesday that Hintz “won’t be there” for Game 3, and added that Game 4 “would be very doubtful.” Hintz has not skated since sustaining his lower-body injury on March 6 and the forward has not been available since the Stars’ final regular-season stretch. Losing Hintz is not a minor blow for Dallas. He is their best two-way center, the anchor of their first line, and the player Gulutzan himself described as “one of the best centers in the league.” Without him, Dallas relies entirely on Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, and Mikko Rantanen to manufacture all of their offensive production — a talented group, but one that becomes significantly more predictable and matchup-able for Minnesota’s defensive structure.
Why Minnesota wins Game 3:
- The Wild posted a 23-10-8 record at home this season — one of the better home records in the Western Conference. At the Xcel Energy Center, which is one of the loudest buildings in the NHL when the Wild are performing, Minnesota is a different team than on the road
- Kirill Kaprizov has been the most dangerous player in this series, scoring in Game 1 and generating consistent offensive zone time against Dallas’s defensive structure. With Hintz unavailable, Dallas’s ability to use their top line to match against Kaprizov defensively is compromised, giving the Wild’s best player easier assignments and more open ice
- Minnesota’s Game 2 loss masked how they actually performed. The Wild outplayed Dallas in expected goals 3.29-3.09, outshot them 30-32, but Jesper Wallstedt posted an uncharacteristically poor performance below expectation. Regression toward the mean for Wallstedt — who averaged a .915 save percentage this regular season — will dramatically change Game 3’s competitive balance
- Dallas went 24-9-8 on the road this season, a strong number, but those results came with a full lineup including Hintz. The Stars have now played Games 1 and 2 of this series without their top center and the offense showed its limitations in a 6-1 blowout before correcting in Game 2 in part because Jesper Wallstedt had a rough night
- The Wild have won four consecutive games at home entering this series and are 5-3 against Dallas specifically at the Xcel Energy Center over their last eight regular-season meetings. Minnesota knows how to win this building, and the crowd’s intensity in a tied series after an away loss in Game 2 will be significant
- Dallas still lacks Miro Heiskanen as well — arguably the best two-way defenseman in the Western Conference — further eroding the Stars’ defensive structure as they try to protect leads and generate offense without their two best players
Best Bet #3 — Edmonton Oilers -1.5 (+122)
Ducks at Oilers | Game 2 | 10 PM ET | EDM leads series 1-0
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The biggest subplot entering Wednesday’s nightcap is the one that every hockey fan in North America is tracking — Connor McDavid was held pointless in Game 1 of the Edmonton Oilers’ 4-3 comeback win over the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid logged 24:50 of ice time and was held without a point, marking only the second time all season he went pointless in a game Edmonton won. The Oilers went 0-12-2 during the regular season when McDavid did not score. He had a point in every single Edmonton win this year before Monday night.
The market is understandably cautious as a result. Edmonton opened the series as -240 favorites and has slid to -182 for Game 2 following the surprisingly close Game 1 result. But the underlying narrative here is simple: McDavid was quiet in Game 1 and the Oilers still won 4-3, scoring four goals without their best player generating offense. With a fully engaged McDavid — and a player of his caliber who has averaged 1.56 points per game over his entire playoff career does not have back-to-back invisible performances — Game 2 projects to look very different.
Why Edmonton takes control in Game 2:
- McDavid led the NHL with 138 points this season (48 goals, 90 assists) and has been the most dangerous player in the league for sustained stretches. He was 3-0 to the over on his 1.5 points per game line in regular-season games against Anaheim this season, collecting two points in each of those three meetings. His Game 1 performance was the exception, not the rule
- Leon Draisaitl returned from a 14-game absence in Game 1 and showed rust — he had two assists but his offensive instincts and shot quality were below his typical standard in his first game back. Game 2 represents his second playoff game after a month away, which historically is when returning players find their timing and become significantly more dangerous. Draisaitl had 64 points in 47 playoff games across the previous two postseasons combined
- The Oilers went 0-for-2 on the power play in Game 1 despite owning the league’s best power play at 30.8% during the regular season. Edmonton’s man advantage faces a Ducks penalty kill that ranked 27th in the NHL at 76.4%. That structural gap — the league’s best power play against one of the league’s weakest penalty kills — will produce results in Game 2 when the Oilers correct their man-advantage execution
- Anaheim shot 34.9% from the field in Game 1 — well below their season average — and is in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Ducks showed tremendous resilience with Troy Terry’s two-goal performance, but sustaining that level of clutch play on the road against a playoff-hardened Edmonton team with McDavid engaged is an enormous ask for a young, inexperienced group
- Connor Ingram made 25 saves in Game 1 with an .893 save percentage — slightly below his regular-season .899 average. The concern for Anaheim is what happens when McDavid is generating consistent offensive zone time, Draisaitl is quarterbacking the power play with Evan Bouchard, and Ingram faces 30-plus shots in a hostile Rogers Place environment. The Ducks’ goaltender will be tested far more intensely in Game 2 when the Oilers’ top unit is operating normally
- Edmonton went 2-1 against Anaheim in the regular season, outscoring the Ducks 16-11 across those three meetings with both matchups in Edmonton being decisive wins (7-4, 4-2). Rogers Place is one of the most intimidating buildings in the playoffs when the Oilers are healthy and generating offense
NHL Betting — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the moneyline in NHL betting?
The moneyline is a straight-up bet on which team will win the game — no spread involved. Favorites are listed with a negative number (e.g., -160), meaning you’d need to wager $160 to win $100. Underdogs carry a positive number (e.g., +140), meaning a $100 bet returns $140 in profit.
What is the puck line?
The puck line is hockey’s version of a point spread. It is almost always set at 1.5 goals. The favorite must win by two or more goals to cover, while the underdog can lose by one goal and still cover.
How does the over/under (total) work in hockey?
FanDuel sets a total number of goals for the game (including overtime and shootout goals). You bet whether the actual combined score will go Over or Under that number. NHL totals typically range from 5.5 to 6.5 goals. The shootout winner will have a goal added to their total. For example, if the score is 2-2 after regulation, and one team wins the shootout, the final score for settlement purposes is 3-2. However, some prop bets are settled on regulation time only — always check the specific rules for each bet at your sportsbook.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.
