Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Friday, May 1

Expert NHL betting picks for Friday's three Game 6 matchups. Get best bets, moneylines, totals and parlay plays for Lightning-Canadiens, Sabres-Bruins and Golden Knights-Mammoth.

May 1, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Friday, May 1

By:

Daniel Dobish

May 1, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Lightning vs Canadiens, Sabres vs Bruins & More – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue Friday night with a trio of Game 6 matchups. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens meet at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2, while the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. At 10:00 p.m. ET, the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth tangle in the second half of the ESPN doubleheader at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Friday'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 battle in Game 6 at Bell Centre, and Montreal can punch its ticket to the second round with a home win. However, that's been easier said than done in this series, as the home team is just 2-3 to begin the first round.

In Game 5, Tampa Bay had the opportunity to push Montreal to the brink, but it was the Canadiens who were table to turn the tables in a fifth consecutive one-goal game. The Under has cashed in four consecutive games in this series since a Game 1 Over result.

Brendan Gallagher opened the game at 3:00 of the first period with an even-strength goal, and that's how the first ended. Dominic James leveled the score at 6:49 of the second period, but Kirby Dach answered just 11 seconds after to restore the lead. Jake Guentzel scored on an unassisted goal near the end of the second to tie the game 2-2. In the third, though, it was Alexandre Texier quieting the Benchmark International Arena crowd, and there were no more scores the rest of the way.

Jakub Dobes was sensational, turning back 38 of 40 shots, besting Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had just 21 saves on 24 shots.

We've seen Tampa Bay go deep into the postseason before, and this is a team with a breadth of experience, especially when adversity hits. I think the Lightning are able to force a Game 7, and we'll go low yet again, as goals should be at a premium.

Lightning ML (-115 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
Under 5.5 (-108 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins

That last win is always the toughest to get in a series, and the Sabres found that out the hard way in Game 5. The Bruins survived 2-1 in overtime against the Sabres at KeyBank Center, forcing the series back to TD Garden for Game 6. Boston remains in contention, for now.

The Sabres do not have the playoff experience the Bruins do, and Buffalo has to figure out to close out a series.

After getting pulled in Game 4, Jeremy Swayman was on a mission in Game 5, stopping 25 of 26 shots for the overtime win, besting Alex Lyon, who had 27 saves on 29 shots. Lyon has been tremendous since taking over the crease for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in Game 2.

We've had just two one-goal games in this series, which is a bit surprising considering the 3-2 lead for the Sabres. In Game 6, though, expect another close one, and a low-scoring game. The Under is 3-1 in the past four matchups in the series, and we've had just 4.7 combined goals per game (GPG) in the past three meetings. Look for plenty of defense and strong goaltending, similar to Game 5.

Bruins ML (-102 at BetMGM and DraftKings Sportsbooks)
Under 5.5 (+102 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Vegas Golden Knights at Utah Mammoth

The Golden Knights return to Salt Lake City for Game 6, looking to encase the Mammoth in ice for the season. In other words, Vegas is up 3-2 in the series after a couple of dramatic 5-4 overtime wins, including the last visit to Salt Lake City.

In Game 5, John Marino and Pavel Dorofeyev exchanged first-period goals in the first period. The second and third periods had three goals each, and Dorofeyev had goals in each of the first three periods to get the hats flying in Vegas. It was the sixth postseason hat trick in Vegas history, which is surprisingly high since the franchise hasn't been around all that long.

In double-overtime, Reilly Smith was sent off for high-sticking, and it appeared the Golden Knights were in trouble. However, Brett Howden scored the shorthanded game-winning goal, sending the home crowd into euphoria, and the Mammoth wondering what could've been.

Carter Hart stopped 34 of 38 shots for the wild win, while Karel Vejmelka had 31 saves, but he had no answers for Dorofeyev.

We'll see what the Mammoth are made out of in Game 6 on home ice. Offense hasn't been a problem, but third-period play and some shoddy goaltending have been issues. That's obviously not optimal in the postseason. Still, I slightly favor Utah to pull this one out, but expect another wild offensive game, uncharacteristic of a game late in a playoff series.