NHL Picks Today: 3 NHL Best Bets and Player Props for Monday 4/20/26

Top NHL Picks at a Glance

• Carolina Hurricanes Moneyline
• Pittsburgh Penguins Moneyline
• Dallas Stars Moneyline

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 for the NHL Playoffs

Best Bet #1 — Carolina Hurricanes Moneyline (-152)

Senators at Hurricanes | Game 2 | 7:30 PM ET | CAR leads series 1-0

If you follow NHL playoff odds closely, you already know what the Carolina Hurricanes do in the postseason at Lenovo Center. The Hurricanes have gone 17-1 in their home building across the last six first rounds, including a perfect 12-0 record in Games 1 and 2 during that stretch. Saturday was no exception. Frederik Andersen made 22 saves, Logan Stankoven scored twice off the same line combination, and Carolina held the Ottawa Senators to just 22 shots while surviving a frantic 6-on-4 power play attack in the final 2:35 of the game. The final score — Hurricanes 2, Senators 0 — barely captures how controlled and physically dominant Carolina was in every phase of the game.

Why Carolina wins Game 2:

• Carolina is the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 113 points, finishing the regular season first in the East for the first time under Rod Brind'Amour. Their playoff pedigree is unmatched — this is their eighth consecutive postseason appearance with an Eastern Conference Final appearance in two of the last three years
• Frederik Andersen was extraordinary in Game 1. He robbed Drake Batherson on a goal-mouth scramble in the third period — a play initially ruled a goal before video review showed the puck never fully crossed the line. The ability to make those critical saves is what separates playoff teams, and Andersen has been that player all season
• Ottawa's Linus Ullmark stopped 27 shots in Game 1 but allowed two goals on shots that were well-placed but not extraordinary. The Senators' penalty kill ranked fourth-to-last in the NHL at 75.5% — a glaring liability against a Carolina power play that finished fourth-best in the league at 24.9% conversion. With the Hurricanes' Shayne Gostisbehere at the point and Nikolaj Ehlers as the distributor, Ottawa's PK unit will likely be under significant pressure again in Game 2
• Carolina's seven-player 20-goal club — Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Ehlers, Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, and Jordan Staal — creates matchup problems Ottawa simply cannot solve with a single defensive line. Brind'Amour can rotate fresh scorers all night while Travis Green has limited answers off the bench
• Ottawa is a legitimate team — Tim Stutzle (83 points), Brady Tkachuk, and Jake Sanderson give them genuine star power. The Senators were third in the NHL in 5-on-5 expected goals percentage at 54.39% this season, and they absolutely held their own territorially in Game 1. But the Senators' penalty kill surrendered power play goals to the league's top four power play teams at a 44% combined rate during the regular season. Carolina's 24.9% PP unit should find the net at some point, and the Hurricanes are simply deeper and more experienced squad
• The Brady Tkachuk-Jordan Staal fight at puck drop was a statement from Ottawa, but it also reflects the Senators' need to manufacture emotional energy against a team that is purely clinical in its execution. Carolina does not get rattled, does not lose composure, and has played this style of dominant, defense-first playoff hockey for eight consecutive years under Brind'Amour

Best Bet #2 — Pittsburgh Penguins Moneyline (-152)

Flyers at Penguins | Game 2 | 7:00 PM ET | PHI leads series 1-0

The Philadelphia Flyers stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 3-2 road win in Game 1 — Travis Sanheim scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Porter Martone added a late insurance marker, and Dan Vladar stopped 15 of 17 shots to backstop the upset. Now comes the critical Game 2 — a game that will almost certainly define the entire series trajectory — and the market has priced the Penguins at -152 despite their decisive home-court advantages, their historically superior roster, and the context of what actually happened in Game 1.

Why Pittsburgh responds and wins Game 2:

• Pittsburgh outshot Philadelphia 20-17, lost on a puck-luck goal in the third period, and saw Sidney Crosby — who has 60 career regular-season goals against the Flyers, more than against any other franchise — held without a point in Game 1 for the first time in recent memory against this opponent. Crosby rarely has back-to-back quiet games in playoff series. He enters Game 2 with something to prove on home ice where the PPG Paints Arena crowd will be at maximum intensity
• The Penguins went 2-0-2 against Philadelphia during the regular season, outscoring the Flyers 16-9 across four meetings. The season series tells a clear story about which team is more talented — two of those four results were Pittsburgh wins by comfortable margins (5-1 on Dec. 1, 6-3 on Jan. 15). The Flyers' two results required extra time (OT and shootout wins). Game 1's 3-2 final fits the Flyers' pattern of grinding close outcomes while Pittsburgh's pattern suggests a more decisive response is coming
• Evgeni Malkin scored and added an assist in Game 1 and was one of the Penguins' best players. With 180 career playoff points, Malkin and Crosby together represent the most accomplished postseason duo currently active. Both players are surely highly motivated after Saturday's result.
• Philadelphia's Dan Vladar was solid in Game 1 (15 saves, .882 SV%) but may face a much harder test in Game 2 when Pittsburgh adjusts its game plan. Vladar had never started a playoff game in his NHL career before Saturday.
• Pittsburgh's 24.2% power play went 7-for-18 against Philadelphia during the regular season. Game 1 featured the Flyers playing disciplined hockey (only 4 minor penalties conceded) — that level of restraint is difficult to maintain across a full series by a young team full of physical players like Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, and Travis Konecny. When Pittsburgh draws power plays at their historical frequency against Philadelphia, Erik Karlsson's elite point work and Crosby's net-front presence should create the kind of sustained pressure Vladar has not yet faced in his career

Best Bet #3 — Dallas Stars Moneyline (-134)

Wild at Stars | Game 2 | 9:30 PM ET | MIN leads series 1-0

The Game 1 result — Minnesota Wild 6, Dallas Stars 1 — was one of the most dominant opening-game performances in this first round. Matt Boldy scored twice with an assist, Joel Eriksson Ek buried two power-play goals, and Jesper Wallstedt was sensational in net at .964 SV%. But the picture in Game 2 is more complicated than that final score suggests, and the most important data point in this matchup is the historical pattern Dallas has established over the last decade.

Context makes this number interesting. The Stars losing Game 1 of a playoff series is not an anomaly — it is their established identity. Game 1 on Saturday marked the ninth time in their last 11 playoff series that Dallas lost the opening contest. They are 9-in-11 at losing Game 1 and almost without exception respond with authority in Game 2. The Stars have bounced back in the second game of a series with remarkable regularity — they now face the choice between going down 0-2 at home or resetting the series by coming out with physical, structured hockey for 60 minutes. This is a team that went 50-20-12 during the regular season, finished second in the Central, and allowed just 2.71 goals per game — second-fewest in the NHL.

Why Dallas bounces back in Game 2:

• Minnesota scored 6 goals on 29 shots in Game 1 — a 20.7% shooting percentage that is well above both teams' regular-season averages. The Wild are not going to outscore Dallas at that lopsided of a margin in goals despite near-even shots (29-28) for the entire series. That Game 1 shooting variance should naturally correct, and with it the goal differential contracts significantly
• Miro Heiskanen returned for Game 1 after missing three games with an upper-body injury. Despite his return, Dallas conceded 6 goals, which is simply not characteristic of how this team defends. Heiskanen himself acknowledged the defensive execution needed to improve: "Have to be better at positioning, close the gaps a little quicker." The Stars' Game 1 struggles occurred with their two-way cornerstone back in the lineup — their response with him fully integrated into the lineup should be meaningfully better
• Jake Oettinger said after the loss: "I don't think we played our best game, but we've played a lot of playoff series and lost a lot of Game 1s, so I feel like we know what we need to do next game." This is a goaltender who has posted a 2.01 GAA and .929 SV% in six career playoff games against Minnesota. He knows this opponent and has succeeded against them at the highest level
• Jason Robertson (96 points, 45 goals this season) was largely invisible in Game 1. Robertson — who was famously snubbed from the U.S. Olympic team by Wild GM Bill Guerin — enters Game 2 with significant personal motivation. In the regular season, he and Mikko Rantanen (77 points in 64 games) gave Dallas two forwards capable of taking over a game
• Dallas went 26-11-4 at home this season — one of the strongest home records in the Western Conference. The American Airlines Center crowd will be operating at maximum volume and pressure for a must-not-lose Game 2 in a building the Stars protected brilliantly all season

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.