NHL Betting Picks for Friday 4/26/24: Jets, Avalanche Look to Break Series Tie

It's a four-game Friday night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, setting us up for some exciting possibilities.

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the 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.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

NHL Best Bets

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals

Rangers ML (-178)

The New York Rangers were the Presidents' Trophy winner for a reason, and they're showing it in their series against the Washington Capitals.

Washington was a bottom-of-the-league team for much of the year as shown by their 28th-ranked 2.60 goals for per 60 minutes (GF/60). The Capitals didn't have a big improvement in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60), either, averaging 2.91 xGF/60.

New York outclassed them with 3.23 xGF/60, ranking 8th in the NHL. It shows in the series, as the Rangers notched 4-1 and 4-3 wins in the first two games.

Getting to the playoffs wasn't easy for the Capitals, but the main reason that they did was due to keeping the puck out of the net.

They were, again, toward the bottom of the NHL with a 25th-ranked Corsi against per 60 minutes (CA/60) at 63.18. But Washington managed to hold their opponents to 3.03 goals against per 60 minutes (GA/60).

Unfortunately for them, the Rangers were unsurprisingly still better, stopping the opposition to the tune of 2.73 GA/60.

It's not difficult. As we've seen with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders, the elite are going to run through the weaker teams. New York can make it 3-0 in Game 3 tonight with ease.

Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche

Under 6.5 Goals (-110)

One of the best series of the playoffs has been the Winnipeg Jets against the Colorado Avalanche. The goalscoring has been through the roof with these teams totaling 12 goals in Game 1 and 7 goals in Game 2.

With that being the case, it's got to slow down a little eventually. I expect that to be tonight, predicting Under 6.5 Goals (-110) as the series heads to Colorado.

Winnipeg got by this season limiting opponent scoring with Connor Hellebuyck in goal. Sadly, there hasn't been much of an answer with Hellebuyck allowing 10 goals in the first two games of the series. But he expected Vezina Trophy winner should be able to bounce back tonight, and it's what I'm counting on with the Jets and Avs tied.

Colorado averaged the most GF/60 in the NHL throughout the regular season with a 3.65 clip. Their xGF/60 of 3.21 is what should be leaned on tonight, as they can and should be slowed down -- even if it's just a little bit.

The Jets also had one of the best defenses in the league, posting 58.73 GA/60. To stay in this series, Winnipeg will be the team to slow things down goal-wise.

numberFire's model likes this game to hit the under, giving the game a 62.28% likelihood -- an improvement on the 52.4% implied probability of the -110 odds.

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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.