Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, March 19

Expert NHL picks & best bets for Stars vs Avalanche, Blues vs Flames & more. Get odds, promos & game analysis you can use tonight.

March 19, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, March 19

By:

Daniel Dobish

March 19, 2026

NHL Picks

Smart Money

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Stars vs Avalanche & Blues vs Flames – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has 11 total games on the schedule for Thursday evening. All games are available on ESPN+, with the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild also available on hulu at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights meeting at 10 p.m. ET on hulu.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Thursday's NBA and/or NCAA Tournament college 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 Detroit Red Wings

The Canadiens (37-20-10) meet the Red Wings (37-23-8) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday.

Montreal has posted a sparkling 18-7-8 record on the road this season, while Detroit has managed a decent 19-11-3 mark on home ice.

These two teams have split the season series, with Montreal winning 5-1 in Detroit on Oct. 9 as short 'dogs (+120) as the Under (6.5) cashed, while the Habs returned the favor with a 4-0 win as underdogs (+110) as the Under (6) hit on Jan. 10 at Bell Centre. John Gibson had 27 saves for the shutout in the latter.

The Canadiens picked up a 3-2 victory in overtime on Tuesday as moderate favorites (-160) as the Under (6.5) cashed. That halted a two-game mini-skid at home. The Habs have still picked up points in five of the past seven games, going 4-2-1 since March 6, while posting a 9-3-3 mark since Jan. 27, collecting 21 out of a possible 30 points. The Under has cashed at a 4-0-1 clip in the past five games, too.

The Red Wings posted a 5-2 win over the visiting Calgary Flames on Monday night behind Gibson-2 (25-15-5, 2.56 GAA, .906 SV%, 4 SO), who is expected to be in the blue ice on Thursday.

The Habs are expected to counter with Jakub Dobes (22-7-4, 2.93 GAA, .892 SV%) in between the pipes. He has allowed three or fewer goals in four straight starts since getting pounded for six goals on 27 shots in a 7-5 loss in San Jose on March 3. He was in net Oct. 9 in Detroit, stopping 30 of 31 shots in a win.

Let's back the Canadiens, who are playing much better hockey lately, and we'll stick with the road trend in this series, too. In addition, the Under is 4-2 in the past six games for the Wings, and 2-0 in two meetings with Montreal this season. Let's go low on the total.

Canadiens ML (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-130 at DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbook)

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

Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers

The Panthers (33-31-3) and Oilers (34-26-9) meet at Rogers Place at 9 p.m. ET in a rematch of the past two Stanley Cup Finals.

Florida has dropped the first two stops on this four-game road trip, getting outscored 11-4 in Seattle and Vancouver. The Panthers were crushed 5-2 by the worst team in the NHL, the Canucks, last time out. That could unofficially be the final nail in their coffin, as Florida goes from two-time Stanley Cup champs to likely missing the playoffs.

Edmonton won't shed any tears for Florida, as the Panthers have kept the Oilers from engraving their names on Lord Stanley's chalice each of the past two years.

The Oilers topped the San Jose Sharks 5-3 last time out on Tuesday as moderate favorites (-160) as the Over (7) cashed. Connor Ingram started his third straight game, and he is 2-0-1 in the span. It isn't all good for the Oilers, though, as they're still trying to figure out the offense with Leon Draisaitl declared out for the remainder of the season due to a lower-body injury.

Still, Edmonton is 4-1-1 in the past six games, and it is playing better than Florida, which looks rather tired and running on fumes lately. These teams met in Sunrise on Nov. 22, and the Oilers doubled up the Panthers 6-3 as short 'dogs (+105) as the Over (5.5) cashed.

We'll back the Oilers straight up, going high on the total in this rematch, too. It might not make Edmonton forget about those Stanley Cup losses the past couple of seasons, but it will get the Oilers two points closer to a playoff berth this season.