Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, April 28

Expert NHL best bets for Wild vs. Stars and Ducks vs. Oilers, plus playoff picks, game previews and parlay ideas for Tuesday's slate.

April 28, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Tuesday, April 28

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 28, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Wild vs Stars & Ducks vs Oilers – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs have three games on the schedule for Tuesday night, including potential series clinchers with the Buffalo Sabres at home against the Boston Bruins in Game 5, and the Anaheim Ducks on the road against the Edmonton Oilers, also in Game 5. The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars tangle in their highly contentious series in a pivotal Game 5.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Tuesday'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.

Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres

The Bruins head for Western New York, staring into the abyss, down 3-1 in the series against the Atlantic Division champion Sabres.

Boston showed absolutely zero heart in Game 4 on home ice, falling 6-1. Jeremy Swayman was pulled in the third period, as Joonas Korpisalo was called upon to mop up. But the goaltender was not the only problem for the Bruins. The offense was unable to solve Alex Lyon, who was plugging into the lineup to start Game 3 after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stumbled in Game 2. Lyon has rattled off two straight wins to get Buffalo on the verge of clinching its first playoff series win since 2007.

Swayman is expected to be right back in there for Game 5. He is 1-3-0 with a 3.50 GAA and .900 SV% in this series. He yelled at his teammates after the Game 4 loss, and we'll see if that rallies the team around him, or if they Paul Crewe him, and refuse to get in the way of the Sabres.

I think the Bruins have a lot of pride, and we'll get a much better effort. If this game were in Boston, I'd even be inclined to take the Bruins. But the Sabres are a tsunami right now, and even though this is an inexperienced team in the postseason, which hasn't had practice closing out series, it's hard to see the Sabres losing at this point. But let's go low, as we should get a lot more desperate defense.

Sabres ML (-164 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 (-141 at BetRivers Sportsbook)

Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars

The Wild and Stars each fought hard down the stretch in the Central Division, but neither could catch the Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota finished with 104 points, and Dallas had 112 points. These teams easily had more points than anybody in the Pacific Division, and if the playoffs were structured as they were many years ago, they likely wouldn't meet until the conference finals, if at all.

We're lucky we get to see these teams meet, as the series has been a donnybrook. After a 6-1 rout by Minnesota in Game 1, we've gotten more of what we expected. Tight outcomes, hard hitting, animosity, defense and timely offense. The past two games have gone to overtime, too.

The Under (6) cashed in Game 4, a 3-2 overtime victory by the Wild, and that's likely a sign of things to come. Jake Oettinger, a Lakeville, Minn. native, and Jesper Wallstedt are starting to get a lot more support, and we'll go with the Under yet again. And, look for a close game in Game 5, and let's trust the home side to push the Wild to the brink of elimination.

Stars ML (-122 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 (+100 Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)

Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers

It's hard to believe, but the Ducks have the Oilers on the edge of the cliff, and Anaheim could push Edmonton off on Rogers Place ice in Game 5.

Anaheim doesn't have anywhere close to the experience that Edmonton does in the postseason, although John Carlson does have a Stanley Cup. But the Ducks are figuring out how to close out games, while the Oilers continue to struggle with shoddy goaltending. Its powerful offense has been unable to bail out Edmonton's shaky defense and tending, and it might finally catch up to the Oilers.

But don't expect it to catch up in Game 5. Edmonton is going to be hard to kill. The two-time defending Western Conference champions have seen it all in the past few seasons, including a 0-3 series hole a couple of seasons ago against the Florida Panthers. The Oilers forced a Game 7 in that series, so never, ever, discount the Oil.

Lukas Dostal had his finest game of the series, allowing just three goals in a 4-3 OT win in Game 4 on home ice. Tristan Jarry was adequate, supplanting Connor Ingram in the crease, but he still fell short. Ryan Poehling snuck in a goal under his skate, and just across the line, for the OT winner.

Let's back Edmonton to get another narrow victory. We'll go low on the total, especially with a flat seven. This is do-or-die, and we shouldn't see the same kind of wild hockey we've seen in the first four games, with the Over going 3-0-1.