Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 23

Expert NHL betting picks today: best bets, game previews and parlay plays for Sabres vs Bruins, Hurricanes vs Senators and Avalanche vs Kings.

April 23, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 23

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 23, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Sabres vs Bruins, Avalanche vs Kings & More – Expert Game Previews

The Stanley Cup Playoffs steam on Thursday, and we have three more games. Each of the entries are Game 3 battles, as each shift to new venues.

The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins meet at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV/HBO Max, while the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TBS/HBO Max. At 10:00 p.m. ET, the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings meet on TNT/truTV/HBO Max at Crypto.com Arena.

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.

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins

The Sabres and Bruins move to TD Garden for Game 3, and this is a pivotal game. After winning Game 1 with a rousing comeback, Buffalo fell behind 4-0 in Game 2 and never was able to recover, as Boston leveled the series 1-1 to take home-ice advantage from the Atlantic Division champions.

After allowing a goal just 16 seconds into the third period to Viktor Arvidsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was pulled. He allowed four goals on 20 shots in 40:16, giving way to Alex Lyon. The latter stopped all seven shots in relief, but the damage was already done. Lyon worked in the starter's crease during Thursday's morning skate, so he'll likely have an opportunity to draw his first postseason start of the year.

The Bruins had no such issues, as Jeremy Swayman recorded 33 saves on 35 shots in the victory. Arvidsson had two goals, while Jonathan Aspirot and Casey Mittelstadt each had a pair of assists. Morgan Geekie scored an even-strength goal, and Pavel Zacha ended up with a power-play goal.

The Sabres made it interesting with two goals from 13:54 to 15:08 in the third period, as Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs halved the lead to 4-2, but that's as close as the Sabres would get. After a bad beat for Under (6.5) bettors in Game 1, as David Pastrnak scored a power-play goal with just eight seconds left to flip the Under to an Over, there was no such bad beat in Game 2 for those who went low.

In Game 3, we'll take the Bruins, as Swayman has been there, done that at home in a big playoff game. I like Boston's experience. Let's also go Under, as the intensity ratchets up.

Bruins ML (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-125 at Fanatics Sportsbooks)

Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

The Hurricanes won Game 1 by a 2-0 score behind Frederik Andersen, and they outlasted the Senators 3-2 in a double-overtime thriller to take the 2-0 series lead. Jordan Martinook eventually sent the home fans away happy with the winner.

The Under has cashed in each of the first two games of this series, with a total of just seven combined goals. It's not much of a surprise, as we expected tight checking, hard hitting and a lot of defense, with very little wide-open play, and that's exactly what we've gotten.

The Hurricanes lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 last season in New Jersey when the series shifted to the road, but they ended up winning in five games. The Senators lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at home last season, so we could have another close game that goes deep into the night.

Let's take the Senators to sneak by, but go lightly. The better play is the Under.

Senators ML (-125 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)
Under 6 (-120 at BetMGM)

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

Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings

The Avalanche and Kings have been very low-scoring. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche have been pushed to the limit by the No. 8 seed Kings, and Colorado is lucky to be up 2-0 in the series.

In Game 1, Colorado won 2-1 as heavy favorites (-275) as the Under (5.5) cashed, while in Game 2, the Avalanche ended up winning in overtime, also 2-1, as a heavy favorite (-275) while the Under (5.5) cashed.

Artemi Panarin has both Los Angeles scores, and each have come in the third period on power-play goals. Anton Forsberg has deserved a better fate, as he has held down the high-octane Colorado offense. He stopped 34 shots in the Game 2 overtime loss.

Scott Wedgewood has managed his first two NHL postseason victories, stopping 24 of 25 shots in Game 2. He has been on point, and Nicolas Roy was the unlikely hero who sent the Ball Arena crowd in Denver into euphoria with the winner in the extra session Tuesday.

Moving to Los Angeles, let's back the Kings for the slight upset, and we'll continue going Under until the offense in this series picks up dramatically. The Under is 3-1-1 in five meetings, including the playoffs, this season, and 7-2-1 across the past 10 matchups in the series since Dec. 3, 2023.