Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Wednesday, April 29

Expert NHL best bets for Canadiens vs Lightning, Penguins vs Flyers and more, with game previews, picks, parlays and playoff betting insight.

April 29, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Wednesday, April 29

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 29, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Canadiens vs Lightning, Penguins vs Flyers & More – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue with three games on Wednesday night, including a potential series-clinching game in Philadelphia. We have two other pivotal Game 5 battles in Tampa and Las Vegas, too.

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

Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Canadiens and Lightning shift their series back to Benchmark International Arena for Game 5, and, for the first time, these teams aren't recovering from an overtime game in the previous outing.

Tampa Bay posted a 3-2 victory as slight favorites (-118) at Bell Centre in Game 4 as the Under (6) cashed. It was the fourth consecutive one-goal game, however, and the third straight outing decided by a 3-2 score.

Montreal took a 2-0 lead courtesy of Zach Bolduc and Cole Caufield, who scored on the power play. However, Jake Guentzel had a great individual effort late in the second, slicing the lead in half. In the third, Brandon Hagel had a power-play goal, and he was back at 15:07 of the final period with the go-ahead goal, while Nikita Kucherov assisted on both of those markers.

Andrei Vasilevskiy was tasked with just 16 saves, while Jakub Dobes had 17 saves on 20 shots. We had plenty of defense, and we'll keep leaning that way in another close game. And, let's back the Lightning to pick up consecutive victories for the first time by any team in this series.

Lightning ML (-170 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)
Under 5.5 (+100 at Bet365, BetMGM, BetRivers and Caesars, Fanatics and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)

Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers

The Penguins looked dead in the water heading into Game 4, getting outscored 11-4 in the first three losses to the Flyers. However, head coach Dan Muse changed to Arturs Silovs from Stuart Skinner in net, and the team's fortunes have changed, too.

The Penguins doubled up the Flyers 4-2 in Game 4 as slight underdogs (+102) as the total (6) pushed at most shops, while Pittsburgh returned home for Game 5 and won 3-2 as moderate favorites (-130) as the Under (5.5) connected. Now, we're in Game 6, and Pittsburgh can force a decisive Game 7 at home with just one more win.

Dan Vladar made 18 saves on 21 shots in the Game 5 loss, but the setback certainly wasn't his fault. However, he does need to stand on his head like earlier in the series to stop the bleeding and a potential epic collapse.

We'll back the Flyers, because they're on home ice, but if this one goes back to the Steel City for Game 7, it's all-in on the Pens. Let's stick with the Under, too, as both teams figure to be rather careful.

Flyers ML (-118 at BetMGM)
Under 5.5 (+102 at DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbooks)

Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights

It was a wild Game 4 in Salt Lake City, as Vegas took a 3-0 lead before Utah rattled off four unanswered goals. However, Brett Howden scored at 10:25 of the third period, his second goal of the game after a shorthanded marker in the first, and that sent the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Shea Theodore notched the winner, as Carter Hart earned his first win since Game 1. Howden assisted on the OTW, too, as he had a monster game for VGK, while Jack Eichel had three helpers. Hart stopped 27 of 31 shots, while Karel Vejmelka conceded five goals on 36 shots in the loss.

The Over cashed in both games in Salt Lake, but the Under is 1-0-1 in two meetings at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. We'll go low in Game 5, as we should see a few more nerves, as both teams do their best to avoid getting pushed to the brink.

Let's side with Vegas, too, as it should be flying high going back home after the giant comeback OTW in SLC.