Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Sunday, March 1

Expert NHL betting picks for Sunday, March 1: game previews & best bets for Panthers vs Islanders, Flames vs Ducks. Click now for expert odds & value plays!

March 1, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Sunday, March 1

By:

Daniel Dobish

March 1, 2026

NHL Picks

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Panthers vs Islanders & Flames vs Ducks – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has six total games on the schedule for Sunday. We have two nationally-televised games, as the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins lock horns at 1:00 p.m. ET on TNT/HBO Max. On the evening slate, the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders meet at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Sunday's NBA, NCAA basketball or NASCAR 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.

Florida Panthers at New York Islanders

The Panthers (30-26-3) and Islanders (34-21-5) meet at 6:30 p.m. ET at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on ESPN.

The two-time defending champion Panthers have managed just a 14-12-0 record on the road, while the Islanders have managed a solid 16-10-2 mark on home ice.

These teams have met just once before this season, and the Panthers trampled the Islanders 4-1 as a moderate favorite (-165) as the Under (6) cashed. Uvis Balinskis, Carter Verhaeghe, Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart each scored goals for the Panthers, while Mathew Barzal was good for the only goal for the Isles.

David Rittich (8-9-2, 2.79 GAA, .902 SV%) was between the pipes that day, coughing up three goals on 29 shots, while Daniil Tarasov (12-8-3, 2.57 GAA, .899 SV%, 2 SO) earned the win with 20 saves on 21 shots. We're expecting a rematch of that goaltender battle on Sunday.

The Panthers have split the first two games since returning from the Olympic break, falling 3-2 to the visiting Buffalo Sabres last time out as the Under (6) cashed. Still, the Over is 3-1-1 in the past five games, and 7-2-1 across the past 10 matchups.

The Islanders have had back-to-back 4-3 victories in overtime on the road against the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets since returning from the Olympic break. Ilya Sorokin has backstopped both of those games, but since he was in the cage Saturday, Rittich is expected to get the call in the second end of the back-to-back set.

New York has managed a 6-1-1 mark in eight games this season on no rest, while the Under is also 6-1-1 in those games.

In this series, the Panthers have won three of the past four meetings, with the Over going 3-1. The Panthers have won two of the past three games on Long Island, cashing the Over in each of the past two meetings in Elmont.

Let's back the Islanders on home ice, and we'll go with the Under here.

Islanders ML (+115 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)
Under 6 (-118 at BetMGM)

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

Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks

The Flames (24-28-6) and the Ducks (32-23-3) square off at Honda Center in Anaheim at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Calgary has managed a 9-18-2 record on the road, while Anaheim is an impressive 19-8-1 on The Pond.

Let's go off on a tangent for a second, and look back a few years. Remember when the Flames just couldn't win in Anaheim? At one point the Flames had lost 29 consecutive games at Honda Center, including an 0-17-5 mark in the regular season, and 0-7 in the playoffs. The Flames had gone from Jan. 19, 2004 to Oct. 10, 2017 without a victory in Anaheim.

Oh, has the tide turned. Calgary has won seven of the past 10 meetings in this series, including a 4-0-1 mark in the past five trips to Anaheim.

In Calgary, the Ducks won 4-3 in overtime as a slight favorite (-115) as the Over (6) cashed. Anaheim's Beckett Sennecke delivered the overtime winner past Dustin Wolf, who made just 17 saves on 21 shots. Lukas Dostal allowed three goals on 35 shots in the overtime win.

Dostal (23-13-2, 3.02 GAA, .894 SV%) is expected to get the nod Sunday, while Wolf (17-22-3, 2.90, .900 SV%, 2 SO) is projected to start for the road side.

Let's back the Ducks on home ice here, despite Calgary's recent good fortune, or at least its better fortune. We'll also go with the Over in this game, which is 3-0-1 in the past four games for the Ducks, with Anaheim averaging 4.8 goals per game (GPG) in that span since Feb. 1.