Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Sunday, April 26

Expert NHL picks for Sunday's evening playoff slate: Lightning vs Canadiens & Oilers vs Ducks best bets, totals and parlays inside.

April 26, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Sunday, April 26

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 26, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Lightning vs Canadiens & Oilers vs Ducks – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue on Sunday with four more first-round playoff games. The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins meet in Game 4 at 2 p.m. ET, and the Colorado Avalanche look to complete the series sweep of the Los Angeles Kings at 4:30 p.m. ET. We're going to focus on the even doubleheader on ESPN.

At 7 p.m., the Tampa Bay Lightning look to level their series with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre, and the Edmonton Oilers look for a much-needed win against the Anaheim Ducks at 9:30 p.m. ET, down 2-1 in the series.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Sunday's MLB and NBA 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.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens

The Lightning and Canadiens have played three games so far, and each of the contests have been unable to decide a winner in regulation.

These two Atlantic Division teams each notched 106 points, tied for the fifth-most points in the NHL, yet they are pitted against each other. It's great for good, early playoff hockey, but it's awful that one of these teams will be eliminated after the first round.

In Game 1, Juraj Slafkovsky was the hero for the Habs, notching three power-play goals in Tampa to snatch home-ice advantage away from the Lightning. In Game 2, J.J. Moser was the hero, betting an OT winner, as the Lightning leveled the series before heading to the Great White North.

While we had a change of venue for Game 3, the play remained generally the same. Alexandre Texier opened the scoring at 4:53, but Brayden Point responded with a power-play goal less than three minutes away. Brandon Hagel scored his fourth goal of the series, unassisted in the second period, and Tampa Bay appeared on its way. But, Kirby Dach had other idea at 12:43, taking a pass from Arber Xhekaj to make it 2-2. That's how things stayed into OT after a scoreless third.

In the extra session, Lane Hutson etched his name into Montreal playoff lore with a game-winning OT tally, helped out by Texier and Zack Bolduc.

Jakub Dobes was tested very little in the OT win, stopping 15 of 17 shots, while Andrei Vasilevskiy was under a little more duress, coughing up three goals on 29 shots.

After a higher-scoring Game 1, we've had 5.0 combined goals per game in the past two outings, both Under results. This highly-contentious and tight series should be another low-scoring battle in Game 4. And, let's go with the Lightning to square the series.

And, if you believe we'll get a fourth straight overtime game, play Tie (+290 BetMGM) on the 3-way result: regular time. It's worth a shot for the chance to nearly triple up.

Lightning ML (-115 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)
Under 6 (-115 BetMGM)

Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks

We've had a wild first-round series in this Western Conference matchup. We've had three games, and three Over results. In fact, we've had 28 combined scores, or 9.3 goals per game (GPG), with Edmonton going for 4.0 GPG, and Anaheim managing 5.3 GPG.

The Ducks lead the series 2-1 after a 7-4 win against the Oilers in Game 3. The two-time defending Western Conference champion Oilers are on the ropes, and facing a must-win situation in Game 4.

Connor Ingram (1-2-0, 4.70 GAA, .849 SV% - postseason) has been atrocious in the past two games, conceding 11 goals on 65 shots. Last season when Stuart Skinner struggled, we saw the Oilers shift gears and go with Calvin Pickard in the first round. Might we see a goaltending change coming, with either Pickard or Tristan Jarry called upon to save the Oilers?

Lukas Dostal (2-1-0, 4.05 GAA, .874 SV% - postseason) has really struggled in this series, yet somehow Anaheim finds itself up after three games. He has allowed three or more goals in five straight starts, and four or more goals in seven of his past nine outings since April 1.

Anaheim has seven different goal scorers in Game 3, showing off their amazing depth and versatility. We've seen this before from Edmonton, though. When you start to no longer believe in the Oilers, they'll bounce back. Look for Connor McDavid and company to get back on track, and let's go low. A flat seven, and even some books offering lines of 7.5, is a big total. Eventually we're going to see defense and tight checking take over.