Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: May 18-20

NHL best bets for Canadiens vs Sabres and Golden Knights vs Avalanche, with expert picks, odds, parlays and Game 7 playoff previews.

May 18, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: May 18-20

By:

Daniel Dobish

May 18, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Canadiens vs Sabres, Golden Knights vs Avalanche & More – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue Monday night for a crucial Game 7 at KeyBank Center between the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. The winner will take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., as the Eastern Conference Finals get underway.

We have an off day Tuesday, but Wednesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche meet at Ball Arena in Denver at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Monday, Tuesday, and/or Wednesday's MLB, NBA and WNBA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres

There is nothing better than the Stanley Cup playoffs, the best postseason in all of sports. And, it gets even better when there is a Game 7.

It certainly didn't look like we were going to get to this point. After a 6-3 win in Buffalo in Game 5, the Canadiens pushed the Sabres to the brink heading back to Bell Centre for Game 6. After grabbing a 3-1 lead in the first period, it appears Montreal was getting ready to book its charter flight to Raleigh/Durham International Airport for Thursday. However, the Sabres had other plans.

After Jake Evans scored a shorthanded goal at 10:14 of the first period, the third goal on four shots, head coach Lindy Ruff switched gears back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Jason Zucker brought it back to a 3-2 game with a power-play goal at 13:56 of the first period. That was just the start.

Zach Benson, Jack Quinn (PPG) and Konsta Helenius netted goals in the second, flipping the game on its head, as Buffalo took a 5-3 lead to the room after 40 minutes. It got worse for Montreal, as Quinn (PPG) and Tage Thompson scored in the third, with Zach Metsa also getting on the board with a goal on the man advantage.

The power play was humming for Buffalo, going 4-for-6, and the avalanche of goals forced Martin St. Louis to make his first goaltending change of the postseason, as Jakub Dobes was pulled for Jeremy Fowler in the third.

Buffalo paid the price with 18 blocked shots, to just nine for Montreal, as the Sabres responded well with their backs to the wall.

We should get a goaltender matchup of Dobes and UPL in the decisive Game 7. Dobes has been unflappable in these playoffs, but could his confidence be shaken after getting pulled in Game 6?

The road team has been victorious in four of the six games in this series, including each of the past three installments. The Over has cashed at a 4-1-1 clip in this series, too, while going 2-0-1 in the three games in Buffalo.

Montreal plays a Game 7 for the second consecutive series, as it topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 at Benchmark International Arena on the road on May 3 as the Under (5) connected. If you remember, the Habs had just nine shots on goal, an NHL record low for a playoff win. Montreal is 16-9 all-time in a Game 7, tied for the most wins in NHL history with the rival Boston Bruins.

Buffalo is in a Game 7 for the first time since 2011, a 5-2 loss in Philadelphia. The Sabres are just 1-6 all-time in a Game 7, with the only win coming in the first-round series against the Ottawa Senators in 1997.

History is on the side of Montreal, and the home team hasn't been able to win in this series. Let's back the Habs, and go low.

Canadiens ML (+100 at Bet365, Caesars and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
Under 5.5 (-120 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)

Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche

On Wednesday at Ball Arena in Denver, the Golden Knights and Avalanche meet for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

These teams met three times in the regular season, with the Avalanche winning two of the three meetings. In fact, the road team was a perfect 3-0 this season, with the Under going 2-1 in those matchups, and 4-1 in the past five installments since Nov. 27, 2024. The past two meetings could not be decided in regulation, either, with four of the past six in the series since April 14, 2024, going at least to overtime.

This is just the second-ever meeting between these organizations in the postseason, and the 2021 meeting in the second round was in "The Bubble" in Edmonton during the strange COVID-19 playoffs. Vegas won that series in six games.

Vegas has won each of its first two series in six games, topping the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks. VGK is 4-2 on the road, too, with the Over going 5-0-1 in six playoff away games.

Colorado swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, while dusting the Minnesota Wild in five games in surprising fashion. The Avs are a perfect 5-0 on home ice in the playoffs, with the Over going 6-1 in the past seven games overall, including 3-0 at Ball Arena.

Let's back Colorado in Game 1, even with a rather high price tag, and we'll go high on the total as these teams settle in.