Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 16

NHL best bets for Ducks vs. Predators and Canucks vs. Oilers, with expert picks, parlays, odds and playoff home-ice insight.

April 16, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 16

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 16, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Ducks vs Predators & Canucks vs Oilers – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has six games on the slate for the final day of the regular season Thursday. The Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators meet at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers battle at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+. With the results of those games, we'll figure out if Anaheim or Edmonton gets home-ice advantage for their first-round clash in the playoffs starting on Monday night.

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

Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators

The Ducks (42-33-6) and Predators (38-33-10) meet at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Anaheim enters the night with 90 points, and it needs to win in regulation and hope for Edmonton to suffer a loss in regulation in its game against Vancouver at 9 p.m. ET. The Oilers have 91 points, and simply need one point in tonight's game, as a tie in the standings gives Edmonton the tiebreaker, as it has 31 regulation wins, compared to 25 regulation wins for Anaheim. Whoever finishes higher in the standings gets home-ice advantage for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks have really stumbled down the stretch, going 1-6-2 in the past nine games, collecting just four out of a possible 18 points. It could have won the Pacific Division going away, had it produced much better, but Anaheim has looked like a young team playing in an unusual spot, just simply not knowing how to finish or win. Will that continue Thursday, and is it a sign of things to come in the playoffs?

The last time these teams played, there was plenty on the line April 7 at Honda Center, and the Ducks laid an egg in a 5-0 loss, as Justus Annunen kicked aside 43 shots, with Erik Haula, Filip Forsberg (PPG), Brady Skjei (SHG), Zachary L'Heureux and Fedor Svechkov providing the offensive support in front of a stunned SoCal crowd. Ryan O'Reilly chipped in with two assists, too.

Let's back the Predators on home ice, even though they have nothing to play for except pride. The Ducks just haven't played with any intensity or sense of urgency lately, and Nashville is a tough place to play, regardless if it is eliminated or not. And, we should have a playoff-like feel, so let's go low on the total.

Predators ML (+110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-110 at Fanatics and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)

Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.

Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers

The Canucks (25-48-8) and Oilers (40-30-11) meet at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The home team has won two of the three meetings this season, with Vancouver surprising Edmonton 4-3 in overtime as moderate underdogs (+140) on Oct. 26. In the most recent meeting, though, Edmonton dusted Vancouver 6-0 at Rogers Arena in B.C. as moderate favorites (-180) as the Under (6.5) hung on.

The Oilers have managed just a 1-2-2 mark in the past five games, as they've had difficulty securing the second spot in the Pacific despite the Ducks really fumbling things pretty badly, too. It probably never should have come down to the final day for either of these teams, so it will be interesting to see how their playoff series goes.

Edmonton has the luxury of facing the NHL's worst team, and the experienced Oilers should respond with an emphatic win, two points, and home-ice advantage in their pocket for Round 1.

Let's back Edmonton laying the goal and a half, and we'll go Under on the total, as the Canucks should have issues scoring. If you're really adventurous, taking Edmonton -2.5 Goals (+120) at plus-money on the alternate line is also worth a roll of the dice.